Glass. 
Book. 







• Ks^A-^^ 



Tivoli, Duchess Co,, If. ¥. 

iOth November, 1869. 

Thb Author, in distributing among friends the few copies of tliis biography 
which fell to his share as the sole reward of his labors and expcndituie, desires to 
inform his readers that no literary task was ever performed under more aggravat- 
ing circumstances, over which the concession of the copyright deprived the 
author (it would appear) of every control. Not to enumerate the obstacles or 
enter into the unpleasant details, it is sufficient to state that no stipulation was 
adhered to by the parties with whom he made the arrangement, and the boolc waa 
only completed in order that the views of no other individual might mar the 
author's comprehension of the character of the hero of whom he undertook to 
present a true picture to his countrymen. Very many of the pages were stereo- 
typed (as was admitted by the publishers) without attention to the corrections 
made in the proofs. The author's secretary heard this admitted. What is more, 
the note at the foot of page 484 was substituted by the publishers without the 
knowledge of the author, who was astonished on finding it presented as his own. 
The first intimation that he had of the unauthorised publication ot the note, as it 
Btands, was reading this note in the copies furnished to subscribers. The original 
note is hereto subjoined, that friends may be enabled to draw their own conclu- 
sions from this act of bad faith, and therefrom learn to appreciate the justice he 
experienced from those for whose profit he expended health, means and time, or 
labor. As he received no remuneration for either, he could scarcely have con- 
ceived that the publishers would have dared to obliterate his explanations, and 
insert instead a mosaic, which, while it embodies a portion of his language, is 
made up in the whole of their own assertions, of whose effect he never dreamed 
until the book was already in the hands of subscribers, and which he would never 
(if consulted) have permitted to appear as his own. 

Original Note. — Reader, pardon any repetitions, if you discover them in this 
chapter, or in the book If it seems fragmentary, " a thing of shreds and patches," 
even if the material is rich and beautiful, it is no wonder that it Is so, since this 
work has been published in fragments, with intervals of many months between 
them. Indeed, the writer never felt sure, when ft.inishing a chapter, that the suc- 
ceeding would ever be called for, or even that the one handed over would ever be 
set up in type. The text was written, with the exception of chapters XXVI and 
XXVII, in the summer of lS(iS, and one-half the whole \vas in type by October, the 
greater part stereotyped. Had there been any assurance of its being printed, the 
work wjuld have been re-written, and have assumed an entirely different form or 
expression. Still, as it i-i, receive it as a memento of almost fraternal regard, and 
respect it (as set up and allowed to ^o forth) as a rough but honest monument of 
the worth, patriotism and ability ot a relation deeply regretted, who was as a 
father to the writer's son, serving at one time with him in the field. 

J. WATTS DE PEYSTER, 



>/. 



/ 






^[I^gOraaiL 




J^^WiilPEYiTE^, 



o-^/, 



I v. 



(tin 



|. Wattss At f (HSter : 

L,. I.. D. 

Rose Hill, Tivoli P. O., Duchess Co., N. Y. 
ir^th July, 1870. 

Judge Advocatk. with the rank of Major. IS45. 
CoioNEl N Y S I 1846 ; assiRPed for " J/tr/torioKS O-mdMcf," lb49; 
UK RKKRRAi for " Imvrtant Service" [tint appointment— in N. Y. State— to that rank, 
hitherto elective] 1851. M.F. S. N. Y. 

ADJOTANT-tiENKRAL. S. N. Y. 1855. 

Rrevet MAJ«R-(iENEUAL, S. N. Y.. for " Meptonoua &.;>..«». 
,t and onlv general officer receiving such an honor (the highest) troni S. N. Y.,] 
ecia! Ac: " or" Cuncumnt Remlution," New York State Legislature, April, 186b. 



LAWS OF NEW YORK, Vol. 2.-89th Session, 1866, Page '-'142. 
ncnrrriit Fexilu!i<'n reijueHting the Governor to confer upon Brigadier-General J. WATTS 
lib: PlIYSTER [de Pewter^ the brevet rank of Major* 
of New York. 
Re'solvkd, (if the Senate concur. ' That it being a grateful duty to 
of K distiniiuished citizen of thi 



\_General\ in the National Guard 



:iwledge in a suitable 
manner the services of a dislinuuished citizen of this ^^t^te. reniiered to the National Guard -nd 
to the United States prior to and during the Rebellion, the tJovernor be and he islieieby aulhor- 
ieed and requested to confer npon Krieadier-fieneral J. VVATIS DE PUY.SThR [de Peyster] 
the />"«■*< rmk of major-lifneml in the National Guard of New York, for meritorious services, 
which mark of honor shall be slated in the Commisson conferred. 

State at New York, in AmmhUj, April 9lh, 1866. 
The foregoing Resoluti.m was duly piisaed. By order of th, 



The to 



.State of New York 

ng Resolution was duly passed. ISij order of 



J. H CusHMAN. Clerk. 
■n Senate, April SOth, 1866. 
; Senate.. 



Jas. Tk 



.Clerk. 



i,,i„al. 



i:v Me 



MILITARY AGENT, S. N. 
BKR. Thirp Class, .if the Milita 
MEMBER OF THE Netheriandi 

[ifaaticliaj'pij der Nederla 



y.,(in Europe. )lS5l-'.3. 

KV Order of the Loval Legion of the U. S. 
SH Literary Assi-ciation 
ndsche Letterkunde] 
"at Leyden Holland. 

RErlPlENT, 1856,of ThreeSilver iVerfo/s from H. R. M. Oscar, King of Sweden and Norway, 
&c for a Military Biography of Leonard Torste.nson. Field Marshal, Generalissimo: 
of a Gold Medal m 185-i. from Washington Hunt. Governor S. N. Y., for 
" Efforts to Improve the .Military System of New York." &c. &c. 
and Suggestions for a Paid Fire Pepartmeut with Steam 
Fire Engines, Ac. &c. : 
of a Gold Medal in 1852. from the Fielu and .Staff Officers of his Couimand, ilth 
liri" »d Div , N. Y. S. Troops, " In testimonv of their Esteem and Appreciation of 
" kflforts towards the Establishment of an elHcient Militia," &c. : in 187U, of 
a Magnificient Badge. Mkdal and Clasps voted at Ihe Annual 
Meeting of the Third Corps (Army of the Potomac), 
Union, held at Boston. Mass.. Thursday, 
May 5th. ISIO, when 
■1 RtHoiiition wns adopted to present a Gold Medal.of the value of $5U0, to Gen. .1. Watts de 
Pkvsthk. of New York, as a testimonial of the appreciation by the Corps of his eminent 
servic'ii\n placing upon record the true history of its achievements, and in defending its 
commanders and their men from written abuse and misrepresentation:" 
iiud of several other Badges, Medals &c.. for services in connection with the militaiy service 

of the State of New York. 

HONORARY MEMBER of the New .Ikrsev and of the Minmispta Historical SocihTits, 

and of the Phrknokosmian Socibtv of Pennsylvania College, Gettimhurg ; 

of the Philosophian Society. Miaaionary Institute, Selin's Grove. 

and of the Euterpean Society. Muhlenhery College. Allentown. Pennsylvania. 

and of the Gas.\ian Literary Society, of Nctiraska College, Nebraska City. 

HONORARY MEMBER of the N. Y. Burns Club. 

(Burns was a member of the Dumfries Volunteers, oi which Col. Arent Schuyler de Peyster, 

8th or King's Foot B. A., was' Colonel, to whom the "National Bard of Scotland" addressed, 

just before his death, in 1796. his •• POE.M ON LIFE,") 

and Life Member of the St. Nicholas Society of New York, 

(of which city Johannes dk Peyster. Urst of the name in the New World, was Schej'en. 1655, 

Alderhian, 1666, llurgomaater, 1673, Deputy Mayor, 1677. Mayorality offered and refused.) 

MEMBER 

of the New York, the Rhode Island (Newport). :md of the Pennsylvania Historical 

Societies, and of the Military Association of the State of New York. 

LIFE MEMBER 

of the Historical Society of Michigan, 

anil of the Numismatic and Arch.eological Society of New York. 

CORRESPONDING MEMBER 

of the State Hlstorical Societies of Maine, ot Vermont, of Rhode Island. (Providence), 

ot Connecticut, and of Wisconsin ; of the Long Island and of the Buffalo 

Historical Societies ; of the New England Histoiuo-Gknealogical 

Society ; of the Quebec Literary & Historical Society ; 

ot the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society 

of Philadelphia. Pernsylvania ; 



PERSONAL 



MILITARY HISTORY 



PHILIP KEARl^T, 

MAJOR-GEXEIIAL UNITED STATES YOLUXTEERS. 



" Dulce et decorum est pro pafrii m&ri." 

KKARNT BADGE MOTTO. 

■ The Bravest Man I eveu knew and the most Perfect Soldier." 

LIBUTENANT-GENERAL WINPIELD SCOTT. 

M<£tn 5Kann cdH ftiUex Orogc," 



By JOHN WATTS De PEYSTER, ;)j 



NEW YORK: 

RICE AND GAGE, PUBLISHERS. 

BLISS & CO., NEWARK, N. J. 
1869. 




New York City, July 7, 18G9. 

As my friend, General J. Watts de Peyster, of New York City, is 
about to visit Europe, I desire to state tliat his great acquaintance "with 
military matters, his long and faithful research into the military histories 
of modern nation*, his correct comprehension of our own late war, and his 
intimacy with many of our leading Generals and Statesmen during the 
period of its continuance, with his tried and devoted loyalty and patriot- 
ism, recommend him as an eminently suitable person to visit foreign 
countries, to impart as well as receive proper views upon all such subjects 
as are connected with his position as a military writer. Such high qualifi- 
cations, apart from his being a gentleman of family, of fortune, and of re- 
fined cultivation, are entitled to the most favorable consideration from all 
those who esteem and admire them. With "reat respect 

A. PLEASANTON, 

• Bvt. Major-Gcn'l, U. S. A. 

Executive Mansion, ) 
Wash., D. C, July 13, 1869. ) 

I heartily concur with Gen'l Pleasanton in his high appreciation of 
the services rendered by Gen'l de Pisvster, upon whom the State of New 
York has conferred therank of Brevet Major-General. 

I commend him to the favorable cousideration of those whom he may 
meet in his present visit to Europe. u. S. GRANT 



Executive Mansion, ) 

Dear Sir ■ Washington, D.C., July 13th, 18G9. f 

I take pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed endorsement 
of the President. yours Very Truly, 

Gen. J. Watts DE Peysteb. HORACE PORTER.* 

*.Vajor of Ordnance, U.S.A.; Brevet Briijadier-General 
U.S.A.; A.-de-C.tothe General-in-Chief; and 
Private Secretary to the President of the U\ S. 



Law Offices of Sewell h Pierce, 178 Broadway, ) 
(P. O. Address, Bo.x 412.) New York, June 9tli, 1S69. f 

General J. J. Bartlett, U. S. Minister Resident at Stockholm. 

Dear Gen. : 

General J. Watts db Peyster, of New York, goes to Europe 
this season, and may call on you. He is a gentleman highly connected in 
our State, and is in every respect worthy of your confidence and esteem. 

He is (as you will discover) thoroughly conversant with all the military 
operations of both armies during the iate war. He has written considera- 
bly on this subject, and his writings have attracted much attention. 

Any kindness you may be able to do him will be esteemed by me as a 
personal favor. Yrs. Truly, 

H. W. SLOCUM.* 

* Maj. Gen. U. S. V., CommW.} Right Winq (o!h, 1 ]lh and lilh Army-Corps) of Union 
Army at Getlyshurg ; C'jinm'J'g (,\SiH) Army of Georgia ; a-c' tt-c lOc. ' 

My Dear Gen. : 

Enclosed please find note to my old friend Geu. Bartlett, 
now at Stockholm. You will not see him, but the letter is what you want, 
and of course it will be good with any one as with B. 

Gen. Sherman will endorse it I think. Yrs. in haste, H. W. S. 

[EtlClor.ied .•'I Head-Quarters of the Army,) 

Washington, ia^i^n. Km. ) 

I cordially endorse the within letter of General Slocu.-'i, and ask the 
Representatives of the U. S. abroad to extend to Gen'l de Peyster the 
courtesy due a gentleman of his character and high position at home. 

W. T. SHERMAN, General. 



TO THE 

70LUNTEER ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

AS 

INDIVIDUALS AND AS A WHOLE, 

THE NOBLEST EXAMPLE 

OF 

PATRIOTISM ' 

PRESENTED IN ANCIENT OR MODERN filSTORT, 

WHOSE MORAL COURAGE AND INTELLIGENT DISCIPLINE, 

WHOSE DEVOTION, PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE 

CONQUERED AND CRUSHED THE GREATEST REBELLION 

EVER RECORDED IN HISTORY, 

OR EVER UNDERTAKEN 

AGAINST THE 

RIGHTS OF A PEOPLE AND HUMANITY; 

TO 

OUR VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS AND SOLDIER-CITIZENS, 

WHO OVERCAME, NOT ONLY 

THE ENEMY IN ARMS IN THE FIELD, 

BUT 

FOES AS DANGEROUS. BECAUSE INSIDIOUS AT HOME. 

THIS BIOGRAPHICAD SKETCH OF A 

VOLUNTEER GENERAL, 

A 

GLORIOUS TYPE OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, 

IS DEDICATED 

WITH THE 

RESPECT, ADMIRATION AND GRATITUDE 

DUE 

FOR HIS COUNTRY SAVED AND ITS CONSTITUTION PRESERVED, 

BY THE 

AUTHOR. 



/ 



Translation of Letter of Lieutenant-General MORRIS, (French 
Army,) recommending Major PHILIP KEARNY for the 
Cross of the Legion of Honor. 

(Read in connection with Chapters V to XV.) 

M. the Major Philip Kearny was decorated with the 
Order of the Legion of Honor by Imperial Decree, as of date 
the 17th February, 1860, on the proposition of the Minister 
of Foreign Atfairs, and at the request of M. the General 
MoKRis, commanding the Cavalry Division of the Imperial 
Guard. 

The following is an extract of the letter written by that 
General in favor of M. the Major Philip Kearny : 

M. THE Minister: 

Permit me to call the favorable attention of your Excellency 
to the services in France of M. Philip Kearny, Major in the American 
Army. 

This officer, after having fnlfilled the course of studies at the Military 
School of Saumur, obtained from the [French] Government the proper 
authorization to [enable him to] make the (^~ Campaign of 1840 in 
Africa. '•■ *' -^ .u.. _ . ■ .... . . •_ . 

of 1 

which occurred on the Oued-Jur and the Bou-Kouml~n,iX\ui Capture of 
ChercheLl, of Medtah, and of Milianah, and in all the o fairs which took 
2)lace in connection with the jirovisioning ot these places. [Chapter VIII 
pages 87 to 110.] ' 

On his return to America, with the rank of Captain, he made all the 
Campaigns in Mexico, [1810 and 1847,] and l;ad his arm shot ofl' before 
[the city of] Mexico. 

In the last Campaign of Italy, [18.59,] after having obtained the per- 
mission of his Majesty the Emperor, he was attached to my staff durino- 
the marches, and was present at Magenta with Gen. Casbaignolles an3 
at my side in the battle of Solferino. 

Everywhere, whether in Africa or in Italy, Major Kearny exhibited 
a bravery of the highest order, [eprouve,] and a great coolness, [sana- 
froid ] ^ ^ 

I should esteem myself happy if by thus contributing my testimony 
ot the brilliant conduct of Major Kearny, I should decide your Excel- 
lency to propose him to his Majesty for the decoration of the Legion of 
^**'^°'"- I beg you to receive, &c., 

General MORRIS, 
Commanding the Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard. 

[In the margin, in the hand-writing of the Emperor :] 
Cross accorded, [or conferred.] 

N. 



CONTENTS 



Preface v to vli 

Introductory Remarks Ix to xii 

CHAPTER I 13 to 26 

A glorious Retrospect ; Origin of the Keaent Family ; Their Relations and 
Connections in this Country, and their Military Affiliations. 

CHAPTER n 27to35 

The Kearny and Watts Families and their Connections ; their Civil and 
Military services. 

CHAPTER m 36 to 46 

The Springtide of Youth; Childhood, boyhood, youth and education of 
Philip Kearny. The child Father to the Man. 

CHAPTER IV 47to51 

In the Saddle at last — Lieutenant Philip Keap.ny's first military service at 
the Far West in 1837—1839, with Notices of the frontier Settlements about 
that period. 

CHAPTER V ,. 53to92 

A representative American — Lieutenant Kearny at the French Military 
School of Saumur. The Feast of Kings ; Twelfth Night Festivities — A 
Ball given by an American Officer in France worthy of commemoration. 

CHAPTER VI 63 to 74 

El Tell and El Sersous ; France in Africa— A description of the theatre of hos- 
tilities between the French and Natives in Algiers; its climate, physi- 
cal appearance, and a consideration of the principal historical events 
which preceded Lieutenant Kearny's service in that region. 

CHAPTER VII 75 to 86 

Through El Bibau — The passage of the Atlas Mountains, through the Gates 
of Iron, by Marshal Valee and the Duke of Orleans, one of the most 
remarkable military excursions on record. 

CHAPTER Vin 87toll0 

Over the Mousaia to Medeah and Milianah — The African Battle above the 
Clouds ; Campaign of 1839, and Campaign of 1840 ; Lieutenant Philip 
Kearny's " Baptism of Fire " on the Plains of Metidjah and of the 
Cheliff, at the Siege of Milianah and Passage of the Mousaia. 

CHAPTER IX Ill to 122 

From the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains — The Expedition of 1845, 
from Fort Leavenworth, along the " Oregon Trace," to the South-Pass, 
thence to Bent's Fort, and homewards along the " Santa Fe Trace " to 
the starting place ; with beautiful notices of remarkable natural objects 
from the Correspondence of a distinguished Army Officer. 



11 • CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X 123 to 135 

The Mexican War — Captain Philip Keajint in Mexico and his famous com- 
pany, mounted .on Iron Greys ; his service along the Rio Grande in 1846; 
selection of his company as the body-guard of Major-General Scott at 
Vera-Cruz ; the Dinner at Puebla ; " An arm for a brevet ; " the pursuit to 
Rio Frio ; the first Americans in arms on the Rim of the Basin of Mexi- 
co ; the Crossing of the Pedregal. 

CHAPTER XI 136 to 151 

he Garita San Antonio: Charge of the One Hundred — The battle of 
Churnbusco ; Kbabnt's famous charge of two miles with 100 American 
dragoons, through 5,000 Mexican Infantry and Cavalry — Captain Philip 
Keabnt the first man, sword in hand, to enter Mexico — one of the most 
audacious feats recorded in military history, which " has no parallel in 
modem warfare." 

CHAPTER Xn 152 to 153 

Home, sweet home — Sword presentation to Brevet-Major Philip Kbaent. 

CHAPTER XIII 154 to 157 

The Golden Gate and Victory of the Rogue River — One of the most brilliant 
feats of Indian fighting performed by our old Army. 

CHAPTER XIV 158 to 166 

Keajsnt a Wanderer: "Round the world" — "Keaent, in Paris, rendered 
important service to the Loyal North, in 1859— '60." 

CHAPTER XV 167 to 183 

The Italian Campaign of 1859 ; Keabnt, a Volunteer at Solferino ; decorated 
with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. 

CHAPTER XVI 184 to 200 

'•The Type Volunteer General of the War: ' Keaknt's return to America in 
search of a military command ; Bull Run ; a Sufliciency of Parallels from 
European History. 

CHAPTER XVn 201 to 218 

A Model Brigadier and Pattern Brigade Commander, Philip Keabkt, " the 
12th Brigadier U. S. V., on the Original List of Generals of that Rank," at 
.,-work, making his famous Ist New Jersey Brigade ; Keabkt's Views in 
regard to carrying on War. 

CHAPTER XVIII 219 to 227 

Plans and Correspondence ; Keabnt foretells the Greatness of Grant. 

CHAPTER XIX 228 to 251 

The Second Advance to Manasses, occupation of the Rebel camps and 
works ; Hiddbn's glorious charge and death ; Kearnt's brilliant initia- 
tive of active operations ; Reports with Lists of those who distinguished 
themselves. 

CHAPTER XX 252 to 256 

Irritants and Assnasives ; Poison and Antidote ; Kearnt thanked by the 
New Jersey Legislature. 

CHAPTER XXI 257 to 262 

From Alexandria through Yorktown to Williamsburg ; Kearnt in command 
of the 3d (afterwards 1st) Division, 3d Corps, Army of the Potomac, Com- 
position of Kearnt's Fighting Division. 



CONTENTS. Ill 

CHAPTER XXII 263 to 298 

The Battle of Williamsiburg, Monday, May5, 1862; " Kearnt, the last to leave 
Yorktown, the first up to save Hooker;'' Keaunt's first magnificent 
appearance on the battle field; Repulse converted into victory; His 
glorious aspect and influence in a fight; Anecdotes, Incidents, Corres- 
pondence and Reports. 

CHAPTER XXIII 299 to 307 

Exempli Gratia, Exemplary Volunteer Generals. 

CHAPTER XXIV 308 to 329 

The Peninsula Campaign No. 1 ; Seven Pines and Fair Oaks ; Kearnt a 
prophet as well as a General and a Soldier ; Letters, Anecdotes, Inci- 
dents, and Reports. 

CHAPTER XXV 330 to 359 

Peninsula Campaign No. 2 ; Fair Oaks to Oak Grove to Malvern HUl ; The 
Seven Days' Battles : Oak Grove, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mills, Savage 
Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Malvern Hill ; Correspondence, 
Parallels, Remarkable Occurrences and Reports. 

CHAPTER XXVI 360 to 371 

Companion and Supplementary, a partial review of the Peninsula Operations 
on the Left : Popular pronencss to exaggeration ; Kearny's practical fore- 
sight and ability ; The Kjiarnt Patch, Diamond and Cross, and Badge or 
Medal. 

CHAPTER XXVII 372 to 385 

Harrison's Landing, Chafing on the Bit — Interesting Correspondence and 
Revelations of the Truth. 

CHAPTER XXVni 386 to 403 

Pope and the "Army of Virginia ;" From the Rapidan to Warrenton ; Kearnt 
again in the field ; Kearnt's division the first, of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, up, in line, for the relief of Pope ; Pope vindicated. 

CHAPTER XXIX 404 to 406 

Pope and the "Army of Virginia ;" Something on the ever ready, fighting, 3d 
Corps ; Kearnt's final Correspondence and last Report ; Kearnt's little 
Bugler. 

CHAPTER XXX 407 to 433 

Ohantilly — A striking example of a second-class decisive battle ; Stonewall 
Jaokson defeated ; The Army of Virginia saved ; Redeeming Victory of 
the Union Troops, and startling Death of Kearnt. 

CHAPTER XXXI 434 to 481 

Death and Burial of " the bravest man I (Scott) ever knew, and the most 
perfect soldier;" Charming Reminiscences from Kearnt's Comrades 
in arms. 

CHAPTER XXXII 482 to 512 

The Epilogue — A summing up of the characteristics of Major-General Phiijp 
Keabnt, with interesting anecdotes throughout his career. 



PREFACE. 



"That elegant force in history, which characterized Tacitus and Plutaech, seems to 
have disappeared in our time; certainly in biographies. * * ♦ When I com- 
pare the present Sketch with the Ideal which I had conceived, it is with actual timidity 
that I venture to publish it. A perfect biography I cannot indeed prepare, since the 
Count (Schaumbubg-Lippb) carefully kept secret the majority of his greatest deeds. 
* ♦ * It was my simple intention to portray even his character as a commander 
and a ruler (organizer) from the stand-point of his magnanimity, and establish every trait 
of this picture with anecdotes. Yet even such a sketch, at least with my powers, can be 
nothing more than a fragment. Perhaps I may claim that no one at a previous time 
could have produced comparatively as complete a history of the Count's career as this 
one. Lest any one should find fault, or occasion for it should appear, I did not embody 
much information which I actually possessed. I do not urge this as a satisfactory ex- 
cuse for the faults of my work, but simply as a reason why they merit pardon, and on 
that account I pray the indulgence of the public," 

Theodob Schmai.z'8 " Denkwiirdigkeiten de^ Graf en. 

WrLHKLMS ZU ScHAUaiBUBQ-LlPPB." 1783- 

The preparation of this Biography, or rather Biographical Sketch 
of the Military Career of Major-General Philip Keakny has been 
looked forward to for six years, not only as a sincere pleasure, but 
as a solemn duty. Almost aU the notices of this distinguished 
General, which have appeai'ed in the different papers and periodi- 
cals, were Uttle more than the ampUfications of the sketch of him pre- 
pared by the wi'iter for the New York Times in 1861. This sketch 
grew into one more worthy of the subject in the columns of the 
New York Citizen of January 25th, 1867, and Februaiy l8tand8th, 
1868. On the 17th of Januaiy, 1868, Cortlandt Pakkek, Esq., 
counsel, and intimate friend of the deceased General, deUvered an 
Addi-ess before the New Jersey Historical Society. This noble tri- 
bute of friendship was afterwards furnished to the editors of the 
JVorthern 3Ionthly Magazine, and appeared in the three numbers of 
that periodical for November and December, 1867, and February, 
1868. It was subsequently pubhshed, by request, as a pamphlet of 
forty-nine pages. Mi*. Parker had free access to all the papers in 
the possession of the immediate family of the General, and the results 



VI PREFACE. 

of his labors are equally interesting as a charming composition and 
as a valuable contribution to history. To it the writer of the present 
work is indebted for much connected with the last year of the hero's 
life, especially extracts from letters, etc. Otherwise the lacts herein 
presented are altogether new, and the views of General Ke/jrny are 
derived from personal and confidential intercourse fi'om boyhood to 
middle-age. 

The Avriter hesitated for a long time before resuming the pen, feel- 
ing that nothing could be done which deserved the name of a biog- 
raphy until certain letters, documents, and books could be obtained 
and examined. Manuscripts, etc., etc., are known to have existed 
which have eluded the anxious search of the historian. The kind- 
ness of friends, and aa examination of correspondence, has filled some 
of the minor gaps, but others stUl exist, one of which is General 
Kearnt's Algerian experience, as glorious to himself as interesting 
to the pubUc. On his return to the United States he wi'ote an ac- 
count of his African campaign, which was "privately printed." Not 
a copy of this, however, is to be found, although diligent search has 
been made in every quarter, where an exemplai' ought to have been 
preserved. Most of his correspondence was, doubtless, among the 
papers of an aged relative, liis mother's sister, one of the most loyal, 
noble, and generous of women, deceased in June, 1866. This was 
either committed to the flames by her, or burned after her decease 
as a sacred trust not to be violated when the grave had closed over 
both, the one who wi'ote as a son to a mother, and the other to whom 
the confidential letters were addi-essed. A valuable lettei', which was 
in hand last fall, has likewise disappeared, whether destroyed or 
stolen for the autogi*aph, since it possessed a signatm-e in full, a very 
rare thing with Kearny's letters, who generally signed "Phil," 
or "K." 

The author of these pages was the only cousin of General Kearxt, 
on his mother's side, brought up with Mm in the house of then- ma- 
ternal grandfather, Hon. John Watts. This excellent man. General 
Kearny's grandfather, was ennobled by his benevolence. His best 
memorial is a gi-and charitable mstitution which he endowed in the 
city of New York. Mr. Watts was a monument of aflliction, in 
that he had seen his wife, six handsome, gifted, and gallant sons, and 
four daughters precede him to the grave. One chUdless daughter 
sm-vived hun and thi-ee grandchildi-en. General Kearny, his sister, 
Mrs. Macomb, who died in Em-ope 30th April, 1852, and the wi'iter. 



PREFACE. Tli 

Peculiar associations intensified the ties which united the sui-vivors, 
sole representatives of a race which had occupied so prominent a 
position in the annals of their native State for nearly a century " in 
troublous, times." In youth the pm'suits of General Kearny and 
the writer of these pages were identical, and it was to the house of 
the latter that the former returned from time to time to talk over the 
strange adventures experienced in a remarkably checkered career. 
Together in 1834 they visited Europe, and the majority of the opin- 
ions expressed herein are founded on personal recollections. If 
affection, admiration, studies, in common, interchange of thoiights, 
intercom'se without reserve, and a memory remarkable for its te- 
nacity can enable any one to produce a reliable biogi-aphy, the follow- 
ing may be considered authentic. As a patriot, as a pubUc ofiicer, 
and as a soldier, Philip Kearisty was a grand example, worthy of 
study, imitation, and commemoration. As an officer in the service 
of om- coimtry, his glory belongs, particularly, to his native State, 
from which he was appointed to the United States Ai-my. As a 
General, unsm-passed, wherever and whenever he was tried for coiu-- 
age, fidehty, self-sacrificing, energy, and ability, his glory is equally 
the property of the whole country. As West Point had nothing to 
do with his achievements, as he owed nothing to its training, to its 
cast influence, to its academic fine of thought, or to its terrible pre- 
judices, he may be considered a magnificent tj^jje of a Volunteer sol- 
dier, for from private life was he appointed to lus first commission ; 
from private life it might be said he again sprang into the saddle in 
1846 — since he recalled his resignation to pai'take in the glories of 
the Mexican war — and from private life abroad he retm-ned home to 
reassume his uniform and assist in saving his country. As a Volun- 
teer, he participated in the dangers and fatigues of a campaign in 
Africa wliich carried the tricolor thi-ough the "Gates of Ii-on " and 
over the Atlas into the strongholds of Abd-el-Kader. He partook 
in the operations of that campaign which laid the basis of the pre- 
sent Kingdom of Italy, and a Major-General of American volunteers, 
he died on the field of battle. Therefore to the Volunteer Armies 
of the United States, and more pai-ticularly to the officers and sol- 
diers of his immediate commands — especially that nonpareil New 
Jersey Brigade which he created, and that glorious First Division of 
theThh'd Corps of the Ai-my of the Potomac at whose head he fell — 
are these pages dedicated, with the deepest and warmest gratitude 
of the author. 



li 



INTRODTJCTORY REMARKS. 



" Truth i3 to History what Eyes are to animals ; if their eyes are torn out, they become 
useless. Just so deprive History of Truth, and it is no longer of any value or utility." — 

POLYBIUS. 

"STA VIATOR, HEROEM CALCAS !" 
Field-Marshal Mebct's epitaph on the battle-field of Nordlingen, where he fell, 1645. 



A -WONDERFUL epoch has closed. This generation stands Hke 
spectators around the upheaved ruins — not yet settled— -of an un- 
pai'alleled moral as well as physical earthquake. Even as at the 
period of the great French Revolution of 1789 (1793), humanity 
has made one of its gigantic strides, in advance, which compensate 
for the inaction of ages. Not that human progi'ess ever stands 
still, but at times it almost seems to do so, groping its way along 
like one stiU half asleep, or like one just awakened fi-om a lethargic 
or di'ugged slumber. Happy he who has enjoyed the advantages 
of occupying a stand-point whence to observe, with a philosophic 
view, the phases and the marvels of the convulsions ; more fortunate 
he who has associated with the heroes, the martyrs, or the victims 
of the catastrophe, and has the ability and leism-e to collect and pre- 
pare for gi-ander histories the details of the tempest he has wit- 
nessed, and the words, the gestm-es, the deeds of those who towered, 
like peaks u-radiated with the sun of gloiy, amid the colliding storm- 
clouds, freighted with thunder and devastation. 

In a retked quarter of the metropoUs of the " Babylonish Cap- 
tivity of the Papacy" stood an old building, once the convent of St. 
Marcel, since the first Empu-e transmuted into a " Succm'sale " of 
the " Grand Hotel" at Paris, devoted to the reception of the inva- 
lids of that ai'my which had borne the tricolor, the emblem of popu- 



X INTRODUCTION. 

lar triumjjh, thi'Oiigli conquered capitals, east and south, to the re- 
motest bounds of civilization. In its cool garden and along its cor- 
ridors had gi-ouped and walked, fighting then- battles over again in 
interchange of recollections, heroes who had inarched and combatted 
over the fiery sands of Egj^t, the classic soil of Italy, the castle- 
crowned mountains of Germany, the di-eary bogs reclauned by 
Teutonic feudalism, the rugged ranges of the Iberian sierras, and 
the snowy steppes of Russia. Around this garden, shutting them 
in from the industry of social life, whose blessings and comforts 
they had renounced for the fascinating career of arms, rose high 
walls, which formerly closed in the members of the church militant, 
the monkdom of the cloister, scarcely gi-eater strangers than the 
monkdom of the flag to the busy and comparatively happier world 
of every-day life. But unlike the disi^ossessed fi-iars, the vision of 
these invahds was not bounded by bare walls, suggestive of no 
thoughts save those connected vnth the dull monotony of monastic 
life. Thickly strung together, like a zone of jewels, from the rich 
mine of the military annals of France, close side by side, a series of 
ivrDBAX TABLETS extended around the garden, devoted to the immor- 
talization of glorious deeds and of heroic souls, that recalled the 
triumphs in which the veterans had jjarticipated — triumphs whose 
narration had made their watch-fires the centres of epopees as gi-and 
as the strophes of Ossian. Wliat a glorious seclusion, redolent with 
the perfume of patriotic devotion, brilliant "vvith the lustre of mihtary 
achievements, musical Avith the eulogies of the heroic dead ! 

What a contrast to these tablets, those tablets set in the walls of 
the old ducal palace which commemorate the Arnolds, the Da\'tses, 
the Stephenses of that Republic which once contested the empire of 
the Mediterranean with the twin sister of the Adriatic, and left me- 
morials of its commercial daring in lands which are scarcely now 
accessible to European enterprise. 

Yet both these classes of monuments should be preserved with 
equal care, for they establish the truths of History, and maintain 
them agamst the flattery of sycophants, the changes of political 
opinion, or the venial pens of prejudiced or political writers, 
changing, as one we have seen, with the horn* and with personal 
interest. 

This little book seeks to erect a memorial to one of the most 
striking figm'es in the gi'eat Ajieeicajn' Conflict to crush the 
" Slaveholders' Rebellion." Its pages present a sketch of the 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

career of one of the men most prominent for their ability, then- in- 
fluence, their prowess, and then- genius for war. 

The student of American History, in his quiet hbrary, sm*rounded 
by such works, whether rude or pohshed in theii- language, still 
careful in then* presentation of truths, is like the visitor in the gar- 
den of the "Succursale" (at A\^gnon), of the "Hotel des Invalides" 
at Paris. He can abandon himself to the reflections engendered by 
the stories of the RebelUon, and as he tm^ns from shelf to shelf, and 
saunters thi-ough the historic pages, the eyes of his mind can con- 
temi^late cOjmhejiorative t.\blets, set up on the walls of his im- 
agmation, some, like those of Keauny and of Lyon, presentmg exam- 
ples of patriotism and self-sacrifice ; others, such as those of Lee 
and Davis, recalling evil men, prominent in the leadership of treason 
and of sin, but none the less remarkable or worthy of consideration 
as beacons on that reef of crime on which a confiding section went 
to wi'eck and ruin. 

Contemplating and reflecting, before him will pass a panoramic 
series of the actions of the Rebellion. Each Biogi'apliical Sketch 
will serve as a portrait in the gallery of word-pictm-es, and ever and 
anon a prominent figure will start into life, if the pen of the biogra- 
pher is equal in its power to the part played by his hero in the mag- 
nificent "procession of the war pageant. 

To futui-e students of history such biographies, however imj^er- 
fectly ^vlitten or faulty in then- style, will prove of incalculable 
interest; to futm-e ^vriter8 of history, of inestimable value. To 
every one who contemplates, like a philosopher, the changes which 
cm* national organization underwent in five years (1860-'65), every 
work connected with the cataclysm will be of value, as a record and 
a memento of what human will, single or combined, erring but ener- 
getic, can accompHsh to injm*e or to preserve ; while the general 
story and its results will serve and operate as a warning against the 
misdu-ection of human efibrts in the futm'e to deface or destroy a 
national structure, faulty in some of its details, but sublime in its 
general conception ; an edifice pmified fii*om the stains of slavery, 
and renovated through the patriotism of the loyal men of all sec- 
tions, destined to stand, with open doors, a refuge and an asylum to 
the oppressed and suffering throughout the world. 

The history of the " Slaveholders' Rebellion " is the record of 
a treason without a parallel in its criminaUty ; a treason against 
God's best gifts, against Free thought, Free action, a Free land — ■ 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

a treason against the People — whose voice, when it utters its will 
with determination, but lolthout violence, is the voice of God. 
Those who, like Kearny, led the van for the People ; who, with- 
out ambitious piu'pc^es, laid down then- lives for the People ; who 
bore the bm*den and heat of the day, and " paid the last full mea- 
fim*e of devotion " that then- country might live ; soldiers, patriots, 
mai'tyrs — such indeed were champions of Liberty. One of the 
gi-andest of these was Kearny, and tliis book is a memorial of him. 
He deserves the best monument of which the pen, pencil, or chisel 
is susceptible. But the hero will not despise any memento, how. 
ever humble, which is the result of the best efforts of the author and 
a tribute of his affection. 




MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, U. S. V. 

From the original grand equestrian portrait in tiie possession of tlie Autlior. Indorsed 

as the best lilceness by the General's family. 



PERSOML AND MILITARY HISTORY 



OF 



MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



CHAPTER I. 

A GLORIOUS RETROSPBCT. 

" ThrouEh the shadowy past, 
Llfee a tomb-searcher, memory ran, 
Lifting each fihroud." MooBS. 

" The hand of the reaper 

Takes tlie years that are hoary, 
But the voice of the weeper 
Walls manhood in glory." 

" This chivakic figure looks as though it had just leaped from the 
centre of a medieval battle-piece." 

Though hving in these modern and prosaic days, his bearing is 
essentially romantic ; he looks the knight-errant. Such a rider on 
such a steed takes the mind back to the days when the badge of 
nobiUty Avas skill with the sword and grace in horsemanship ; when 
to be a gentleman was to follow the profession of arms ; when the 
joust and the tom-nament assembled all the beauty and aU the valor 
of feudal monarchies ; when 

" Nine and twenty loiights of fame 
Hung- their shields in Branksome Hall, 
And quitted not their harness bright, 
Neither by day, nor yet by night ; 
But carved at the meal 
"With gloves of steel. 
And drank the red mne through the helmet barred." 

These words are full of truth, suggestive. 

There is scarcely an individual endowed Avith the power of obser- 
vation, who, while examining a collection of modern or recent por- 
traits, has not been struck Avith the peculiar face and bearing of some 
one or other of the individuals presented, who, notwithstanding the 
costumes and accessories, seems out of place among the pictures of 
cotemporaries. Certain striking peculiarities of feature or expression, 
suggest the idea that a mistake has occurred ; that the likeness of 



14 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



one distinguished in the days of chivahy has fallen into the hands of 
a Vandal, to whose piu'se or whim the painter has sacrificed his art 
as well as the truth, and concealed the armor, dinted by cimeter 
or falchion, beneath the strff and ungTaceful costume of this century. 
No one who has has ever studied the lineaments and expression of 
Prittip Keaknt, his carriage, his bearing on foot or seat in the sad. 
die, but must appreciate this, and acknowledge in then- hearts that 
his soldierly face and knightly person would look more appropriate 
under the morion and the mail of Fra Mokeale, of du Guesclix, or 
of Bayard, or in the plumed hat lined with steel, and polished 
breastplate of a Rupert, a Montrose, or a Dundee ; nor deem him in 
the saddle unworthy of Su" Richard Vernon's glowing description 
of that "Imp of Fame," who, on the field of Agincourt, so glorious 
to his manhood, declared : 

" And be it death proclaimed tliroughont our host 
To boast of this, or take that praise from God 
Which is His only " 

Thus spake Sir Richaed : 

" I saw young Harry — with his beaver on, 
His cuisses on his thighs, gallantly arm'd, — 
Rise fi'om the ground like feathered Mercury, 
And vaulted -with such ease into his seat 
As if an angel dropp'd do^vn from the clouds, 
To turn and wind, a fiery Pegasus, 
And witch the world with noble horsemanship." 

Wandering through the galleries of Em'ope, the wi'iter has more 
than once been startled at recognizing in a gi-and equestrian picture, 
or an exquisite mihtary portrait, something which recalled a friend 
or relative distinguished for those quahties which indicate the natural 
soldier. Any one who was intimately acquainted with Major-General 
PinLip Kearny, and the race from which he sprang, or -with which 
he was connected, can understand this feehng. 

In the Palazzo Spinola, in Genoa, there is a magnificent painting 
by Van Dyke, hung on hinges, which, when swung out from the 
wall in order to present its beauties in the most advantageous light, 
both horse and rider, nearly natm-al size, seem to stand out from the 
canvass and become instinct with life. It is one of those incompara- 
ble equestrian portraits, regarded as almost priceless gems of art, in 
which the rival of Rubens and of Titian pecuharly excelled. Such 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 15 

a portrait, in fact, to one who knew him well, would at once recall 
General Keakxy. In him, mounted on his favorite gray charger, 
Moscow, the great painter would have welcomed a subject worthy of 
his genius, and have handed him down to posterity in all the brilliancy 
of his design and coloring ; and fiction would have seized upon him 
as its hero, and have commemorated his career in verse like the 
" Max Piccolomini " of Schillek, or in romance like the Ciaverhouse 
of "OldMortahty." 

This is no over-di'awn picture. On some pubhc occasion, at a ball 
in the Grand-Ducal (Pitti) Palace, in Florence, Keaeny appeared as 
a Knight Templar, clothed from head to foot in chain armor. To 
dance gi-acefiilly — and gracefully he did dance — under such a weight 
of steel, proved what immense physical power he possessed. The 
wi'iter has a sleeve of chain mail, taken fii-om one of the catacombs 
of Egj-pt, which belonged to a Crusader. Each link is rivetted 
separately, and the whole suit was worth a prince's ransom. This 
sleeve weighs four and a half pounds. The whole tunic must have 
weighed over eighteen pounds ; the entne suit over four times that 
number. Under this weight Kearny waltzed as lightly as if clad in 
sUk, and wore it so aptly that the illusion was perfect. To the com- 
pany it seemed as if one of those haughty chevaUers had risen from 
his tomb to grace the festival, or as if one of thek efiigies had started 
into life. 

Again, at a fancy ball — unequalled ever in the city of New York 
— given by Commodore John C. Stevens, Keakny was conspicuous 
as a Kabyle chieftain, in a perfect costume, which he had probably 
captm-ed in Algiers. So correct was it in every detail, that fi'om his 
belt swung a severed head imitated to the life, or rather death, in 
sugar, but nevertheless so corpse-like that he was compelled to lay 
it aside from the horror it excited. On this occasion likewise, had 
one of Abd-el-Kader's kalifas or beys appeared in the ball-room, he 
could not have looked and played his part with greater grace and 
tact than did the American Volunteer, who may have crossed steel 
with the original under the shadow of the Atlas. 

" Though an American by bhth, and intensely American in his 
sympathies. General Philip Kearny carried in his veins blood that 
distinguishes the leading nations of Em-ope. 

" On his father's side he was L'ish, and thence he derived his im- 
pulsive, roving, danger-coui'ting blood, the temper that never stops 
to count odds nor calculate chances. 



16 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARIJY. 

" On his mother's side there were two diverse elements not often 
combined in one person — the strong native sense, and the shrewd 
common sense of the canny Scot, and the fiery nature, the love of 
pomp, splendoi: and beauty, the ardent soul and the chivahic bear- 
ing of the Gaul." 

Close investigation, however, would lead to the conviction that 
the Kearnys are Scotch-Irish, for the name is certainly Gaelic. The 
cousin and executor of our hero has a family tree, showing all the 
marriages as far back as 1506, and traces back the family long an- 
terior to that date, to two brothere who first settled in Ireland. The 
name was originally O'Clearman, which, he says, meant "soldier." 
Kearny, in its original spelling, Cearnach, in Gaelic or Celtic, does 
signify " soldier."* The name must have been derived from some deed 
of note in war, for all private names are in one sense derivatives. 
Kearny was thus not only a soldier by name but by natm*e, and a 
true inheritor not only of the designation but of the spu-it of his 
race. 

It is seldom that a man born to command, and imbued with all 
the peculiar characteristics of a military leader — that is, one who 
would be selected from the crowd as a soldier-born — who has not 
sprung from a race of soldiers, or been brought up amid military 
associations, or who has not in his veins the blood of those races 
which instinctively produce soldiers, lor such races do undeniably 
exist. Prominent among them is the Celtic race, which has been 
tempered by the Frank (pm-e Saxon), or Gothic blood in France, 
and by the Gothic in Spain. 

This is peculiarly the case with the French Huguenots, whose 
strongholds and recruiting grounds were in those parts of France 
which were originally the seats of Norman, Burgundian, or Viso- 
gothic power. From the former stock came the de Lanceys. If 
any family of this State ever shone in arms, m times which tried 
men's souls, and proved then* loyalty in every way it was possible 
to do so, it was these same de Lanceys, who, either thi'ough its 
own scions or connections, saw almost every male in the field from 
Brigadier-General down to Cornet; a fiimily, whose descendant 

* "Keabns is a term signifying soldiers in Irish History. As f or tlie term 0"Cleaeman 
Keauny. the inquisitive reader is referred to Dr. Keating's History of Ireland, where the 
genealogy of the OKeabnts is to be found " In Gielic "Cliar" means -'gallant'' or 
"brave,'' and " man," " hand." Consequently Kearny O'Cliar-man doubtless signified 
"the soldier of, or with, the brave hand." "Cbabnach" is likewise translated ''vic- 
torious.'''' 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 17 

died upon the field of Waterloo, Colonel and Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral on Wellington's stafi^, evincing with his dying breath an un- 
selfish solicitude for the life of his commander, more precious to 
liis country and the world than his own, dying a death which was 
worthy of the pm'est days of chivahy — ^that is, of that chivaby 
which romance has invested with such a glorious halo, and which 
did actually exist in certain individuals, of whom, perhaps, the 
most genuine, or rather the best known examples, were Bataud 
and Montrose. 

Philip Keakny was indeed a Huguenot* — not a Pmitan, Glory 
was the breath of his nostrils. 

Although no one wiU deny that the L'ish blood has fight enough 
in it, it is very questionable if the Watts' blood and aU its afiilia- 
tions and connections — among these the Kearnys — did not get the 
greater part of then* mUitary instincts, their war-motor power, from 
the DE Lanceys. The spirit of these latter was the yeast to make 
everything tending to soldiership ferment in the different families 
into which it was infused. Tliis de Lancet blood was a gTand one. 
From the moment the first of the name arrived in New York it 
made itself felt. As statesmen, as they would justly be termed in 
the Old World, or as politicians in this country — before the term 
"politician" unplied something derogatory — or as soldiers, they 
exerted the most astonishing influence in the Province or Colony 
of New York. No one who has examined into its records will 
pretend to deny this. Exiled for opinion's sake, the English gov- 
ernment acknowledged their worth by giving them high employ- 
ment, which then* services, then- zeal, corn-age and fidelity, even to 
the death, proved that they deserved. 

* " There was a great difference, however, to be remarked between them (the Huguenot 
Boldier) and the religious insurgents of more northern countries ; for though both the 
Bteruer fanaticism which characterized Scotland and England not long before, and the 
wilder imaginations and fanciful enthusiasms of the far south, were occasionally to be 
found iu individuals, the great mass were entirely and decidedly French, possessing the 
character of light and somewhat thoughtless gaycty, so peculiar to that indifferent and 
laughter-loving nation. 

" Thus, though they had prayed earnestly, after having fought with determination in the 
cause which to them was the cause of conscience, they were now quite ready to forget 
both prayer and strife, till some other cause should reproduce the enthusiasm which gave 
vigor to either. 

" They sat in groups, then, round fires of an old apple-tree or two which they had pulled 
down, and drank the wine, procured, it must be acknowledged, by various differerit 
means ; but though they sang not, as perhaps they might have done under other circurn- 
Btances, nothing else distinguished them from any other party of gay French Soklitrs 
carousing after a laborious day."— James' " IItjguenot." 



18 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

John Watts, the second of that name — for his father, by the 
addition of an " s," changed his name Watt to Watts ; while his 
mother's family simultaneously by di-opping an "s" from Nicolls 
became Nicolt. — was the first of the family born in this country. 
By position, property, marriage, and ability, he became one of the 
most influential citizens of his native city and of the colony pre- 
vious to the Revolution, and occupied a place in the first rank of 
the provincial leaders. He was a prominent member of the General 
Colonial Assembly, Chahman of several of the most important 
Committees, Member of the King's Council from 1756 until 1782, 
when the comiections between the Thhteen Colonies and the 
mother country was dissolved. Had the party with which he 
linked his fortunes been successful, he was destined to fill the 
gubernatorial chair, which had been occupied by his brother-in-law, 
the eminent Jasies de Lancet, and by the no less extraordinary 
Cadwall.'VDEr Golden (gTandfather of the wife of his son, John 
Watts, Junior), one of the " celebrities " of this State, especially 
notable as a physician, philosopher, inventor, historian, and magis- 
trate. 

Although a consistent Loyalist — ^for which he sufiered the confis- 
cation of his property and died in exUe in Wales — ^he distinguished 
himself while in office , by upholding the poj^ular rights, and when 
neither Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, nor any other Member of 
the Council dared, or would do so, he withstood the arbitrary de- 
mands of the Earl of Loudon, in regard to billeting troops upon 
the citizens of New York, and "spoke his mind in fiivor of the 
people." He was one of the original Founders and Trustees, in 
1754, of the New York Society Library ; in 1760 he presented its 
first clock to the public Exchange of his native city; and in 1770 
he iDccame the first President of the New York City Hospital. 

He was a coadjutor in all the political tiiumphs of his brother-in- 
lav,^, Lieutenant-Governor James de L.vncet, " an ornament to his 
country," one of the most remarkable men the State has ever pro- 
duced, "whose biogi-aphy is the history of om- Colony, from the 
period he reached man's estate to the day of his death." Through- 
out his long career, John Watts afforded him the cordial and 
active support of his energy and influence, and when a sudden 
death deprived the Colony of de Lancey's capacity for government, 
he continued for thu-teen years to act in accordance with his prin- 
ciples and cany out his sagacious views. 



BIOGKAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 19 

Hon. John Watts, Senior, married Akne, the second danghter 
of Stephen de L.vncey, who immigrated to New York in 1686. 
They were the grandparents of Brevet Major-General Stephen 
Watts Kearny, U. S. Army, and great-grandparents of Major- 
General Philip Kearnt, U. S. Vohmteers. 

Robert Watts, the eldest son of the preceding, mamed Lady 
Mary, daughter of William Alexander, Earl of Sterling, Major- 
General in oiu* Revolutionary Army. Their daughter, again, 
married her cousin-german, John Watts Kearny. The son of 
tliis latter, Philip John Kearny, born and bred in the State of 
New York, was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, Major of the 
11th New Jersey Volunteers, having proved himself a brave and 
able officer. His commission of Lieutenant-Colonel had been 
made out and was ready for the signature of the Governor of New 
Jersey, to be issued to him in case he survived. Unhapj^ily, he 
could not rally from the amputation of his leg, and died in New 
York city, aged twenty-one years, 9th August, 1863. His career 
proved that he was a worthy scion of that race and name which 
had already given two Major-Generals to theii' country, 

Stephen, the second son of the John Watts, first named, was a 
brilliant officer in the Anglo-American Army. Already at the age 
of twenty-two he was. the Major of the intrepid bataliion of Loyal- 
ists, known as the " Royal New Yorkers," or " Johnson Greens," 
raised by his brother-in-law, Su" John Johnson, son of the femed 
Su- WiLLTAJi Johnson, who was knighted and created Major-Gen- 
eral for resplendent service, more particularly for his victory over 
DiESKAU, at the head of Lake George, in 1755. He afterwards 
captured Fort Niagara in 1759. Su* John Johnson by his con- 
scientious loyalty probably hazarded more in the cause of the 
Crown than any other American. His domains, which were con- 
fiscated, were the fairest and most extensive of any colonist, 
except the estate of Lord Fairfax, in Vu-ginia. After the 
Revolution he held the position of Superintendent General and 
Inspector General of Indian Afiau-s in British North America, 
like-wise other high trusts. His wife, Mary Watts, daughter 
of the first John Watts, of the city of New York, was 
made a prisoner and confined at Albany as a hostage for the 
good conduct of her husband. She was one of the most re- 
markable women of her day, as conspicuous for the power of her 
mind as for those other quahties which most adorn her sex, and to 



20 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

sucL an extent had she won the affection and respect of her hus- 
band's " faithful Mohawks," that they threatened the most terriWe re- 
prisals in case that she suffered the least injury. Her daughter, 
Catherine Maeia, married Major-General Bowes, who was killed 
at the storming of Salamanca. Before the breach was rendered 
practicable. Lord Wellington determined on an attempt at escalade. 
"In this unfortunate attack Major-General Bowes and one hundi-ed 
and twenty men fell. The conduct of this gallant officer had been 
on all occasion conspicuous. In leadhig on the storming party he 
received a Avound, which was no sooner dressed than he returned to 
the post of honor, and died gloriously in the service of his country. 
The monument of a soldier can bear no prouder epitaph than the re- 
cord of such facts." 

Her eldest son, William Johnson, was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
28th Regiment of Foot, B. A. Another soij, James, fell on the same 
occasion with his brother-in-law, Major-General Bowes, and gal 
lantly supporting him, by his side. 

In 1777, when St. Ledger entered the Mohawk Valley to co-oper- 
ate with BuRGOYNE, Stephen Watts commanded the sixty picked 
marksmen who constituted the British advance-guard, and cleared 
the way for the invading column. He was second in command at 
the battle of Oriskany, fought 6th August, 1777, near the mouth of 
the creek bearing that name, between Rome and Utica, in this State. 
It is a mooted question, even not yet determined, whether Sh John 
Johnson was General-in-Chief in this action; but if he had been so, 
and if his conduct had equalled the terrible resoluteness of his young 
brother-in-law, the result of the conflict would have been still. more 
disastrous to the colonists, who lost then- General and half their 
troops engaged. The two most distinguished officers on the field, 
Major-General Harkeimer and Major Watts, were both shot 
through the leg. The wound of the former terminated fatally. The 
latter, left for -dead upon the field, recovered from his faintness, 
crawled to a brook or creek to slake the thirst occasioned by his 
daagerous wound, and was actually found two or three days after- 
ward with his leg in a shocking condition by some Indian scouts, 
and conveyed to the British camp. He lost his limb, but long sm- 
vived the operation and his exile in England. 

This battle of Oriskany, celebrated in history and romance, in 
prose and poetry, was the most bloody, for the numbers engaged, 
and the most obstinately contested at the North during the Revolu- 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 21 

'tion. It was as momentous in its effects as a side issue can be, and 
with its t^vin-combat styled, in error, Bennington, on the Wal- 
loomscoick, an affluent of the Hudson, in the State of New York, 
decided the fate of Burgoyne. 

Anne, the eldest daughter of this Major Stephen Watts, married 
Major Johnson, of the British Army, cousin of Lord Paoierston, 
late Premier of England, and his eldest son, John, was a Captain 
in the same service. This Captain John Watts was present at the 
battle of Bladensburg, at the capture of Washington, and at New 
Orleans. He was also Vice-Governor, or Deputy Warden of Wal- 
mer Castle, one of the Cinque Ports, of which the Duke of Welling- 
ton was Warden. The " Iron Duke " having died at Walmer 
Castle, Captain John Watts had charge of the remains of the 
"world's conqueror's conqueror," and accompanied the body to its 
last resting-place, in St. Paul's Cathedi'al, London. These facts, as 
well as those similar ones which foUow, are interesting to show how 
the Watts and de Lancey blood had an affinity Avith the army. 
Many more cm*ious connections of the family of Watts could be 
noted, but for fear of thing the reader's patience we will retm-n to 
the consideration of the de Lancey line, proper, which, in itself, is 
almost sufficient to occupy the space which was originally assigned 
to this branch of the subject. 

In France there were two distinct species of nobility, the 
nobility of the Sword and the nobility of the Robe. The former 
occujjied a much higher rank in society than the latter. The 
events of the last century have corrected this prejudice, and except 
in times of a great war, like our civil war, the sword yields to the 
robe or toga. In Europe it is not even yet so. The de Lanceys 
belonged to the ancient nobility of France. They were hereditary 
soldiers, and theu* proj)erty " fief was probably holden by the feu • 
dal service of the banner or lance, hence their sm-name de Lancey." 
A cion in this gallant race died as a Mestre de Camp (^. e. Colonel, 
according to the old French title, of a cavalry regiment) of the Life 
Guards or Household troops of Louis XIV, at the battle of Mal- 
plaquet, so glorious to the French army, although comj)elled to 
abandon the field to Marlborough. From this race sprang 
Stephen de Lancey, father of Anne, Avife of Hon. John Watts, 
Senior, hereinbefore referred to. Her sister man-ied Admiral Sir 
Peter Warren, K. B., who commanded the expedition that took 
Louisbm-g, the key of the French insular possessions in North 



22 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOB-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

America, Her brother, Jajies de Lancet, was a Captain, B. A., 
and her nephew was James de Laxcey, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
1st Dragoon Guards, B. A, Her brother, the gi-eat-uncle of 
Major-General Stephen Watts Keaeny, was Brigadier-General 
Oliver de Lancev, of the British Army, who, fi-om his entrance 
into military life, Avas pre-eminent for gallantly. He commanded 
the New York Colonial troops almost throughout his life. In the 
French war of 1756 he was a Colonel, and led the New York 
Provincials in Aberckombie's campaign, and received for his ser- 
vices in this war the thanks of the Colonial Assembly, equivalent 
to our Legislature. 

His daughter, Susan, married Lieutenant-General Su* Witxiam 
Draper, K. B., Knight of the Bath, of the British Army. Another 
daughter, Charlotte, married Field-Marshal Six David Dlndas, 
K. B., Commander-in-Chief of the British Ai-my. Another daugh- 
ter, Anna, married Colonel John Harris Cruger, commandant of 
his father's-in-law. General de Lancet's, 1st Battalion. He was the 
gallant defender of Fort 96 in South Carolina. No Loyalist 
officer performed more responsible or arduous duty with greater 
credit. The General's son and namesake, Oliver de Lancet, Jr., 
rose to be Lieutenant-General in the British Ai*my. The famous 
Prune-Minister, Pitt, the younger, appointed him Barrack-Master 
General of the British Emjm-e. Be was also Colonel of the 1 7th 
Light Dragoons, a veiy high honor in England, and in 1796 
Member of Parliament. With him ended one branch of this 
glorious family. 

Stephen, the youngest son of General de Lastcet, Senior, com- 
manded the 1st Battalion of New York Volunteers during the 
Kevolution, held that rank in the British Army, and in 1797 was 
Governor of the British Island of Tobago and its dependencies. 
The two daughters of the latter married: Susan, first. Colonel 
William Johnson ; second, Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Loave, 
Knight Commander of the Bath, the Governor of St. Helena during 
Bonaparte's captivity there — the faithful servitor of his country, 
calumniated by prejudiced wi'iters, who would not sift out the 
truth, so nobly vmdicated in William Forstth's History of ^ the 
Captivity of Napoleon at St. Helena. (Ncav York : Harper Bros., 

1863) ; — Charlotte, Colonel Child, British Army. Then* 

brother was Colonel Sir William Hoave de Lancet, "the excellent 
Quarter-Master-General," on the stafi* of Weijjngton at the battle 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 23 

of Waterloo, in which he was mortally wounded " in the middle of 
the action." He died the death of a hero. The following is too in- 
teresting to be omitted'in the life of Major-General Philip Ke.\j:xt, 
as it regards a near kinsman whom he greatly resembled in mag- 
nanimous characteristics. " The Duke's personal staff, who had 
shared so many glories and dangers by the side of their com- 
mander, fell around him in rapid succession. The Prince of Nas- 
sau, one of his aids-de-camp, received two balls. The gallant 
General de Lancet was struck with a spent cannon-ball while ani- 
mating and leading back to the charge a battalion of Hanoverians 
who had got into confusion." 

Here permit the wiiter — who is of Hollandish or Dutch descent, 
and right j)roud of a race which has produced the best soldiers 
and sailors on record, from the days of Julius C^sar and Phah- 
SALiN, through nineteen centm-ies of unsm-passed patriotism and 
reno^vn, down to Hasselt and Antwerp in 1831-2 — to make a re- 
mark in justice to his people, and put the saddle on the right horse. 
Prejudiced authors have stated that the Dutch and Belgian troops 
(then united under one crown, that of Holland) behaved the worst 
at Waterloo. The exact contrary was the fact. As a general thing 
they displayed remarkable tenacity. It was some of the German 
contingents who behaved so badly in this campaign, and none so 
shamefully as a regiment of Hanoverian cavalry, the " Cumber- 
land Hussars," whose " dastardly conduct" caused them to be 
subsequently disbanded and then- Colonel cashiered. The Dutch, 
under Chassee, " the bayonet General, ' who won immortal honor in 
1832 for his defence of Antwerp against overwhelming numbers 
of French and Belgians, faced the music, like the Dutch infantry 
at Fleurus, 1700, and at Almanza, 1707, and did as well as any 
English, not only at Quatre-Bras — a fight in its relation to om- 
Gettysburg, equivalent to Buford's magnificent stand on Oak 
Ridge, 1st July, 1863, but in that — 

" first and last of fields ! king-making victory !" 

"Immortal Waterloo !" 

But to return to General de Lancey " He exclaimed as he fell, 

* Leave me to die ; my wound is mortal ; attend (or look) to the 

Duke, and do not waste that time on me which may be usefully 

employed in assisting others.' These orders were too promptly 

obeyed, and, when on the folloAving morning, the bloody field was 

traversed, he was found yet living, and to the satisfaction and joy 



24 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GE^'ERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

of ids fi'iends, hopes — fallacious ones, alas! — ^were entertained of his 
recovery. He was removed to the village of Waterloo, and Lady 
DE Lancet, who had anived at Brussels a week before the battle, 
had the sad consolation to attend her dying husband, who expired 
sLy days after the battle — a martyr probably to his generous dis- 
interestedness." 

His fate is enshi-ined in the verse of Sk Walter Scott, ^ xxi. of 
his poem, " The Field of Waterloo :" 

" Period of honor as of woes, 

What bright cai'eers 'twas thine to close I — 

Marked on thy roll of blood what names 

To Britain's memor}'', and to Fame's, 

Laid there, their last immortal claims I 

Thou sav/st in seas of gore expire 

Redoubted Picton's soul of fire — 
« • « * * 

De Lancet change Lov^s bridal wreath 
For laurds from the hand of death — 
***** 

Ah ! though her guardian angel's shield 
Fenced Britain's hero tlirough the field. 
Fate not the less her power matle known 
Through his friend's hearts to pierce his own !" 

The second son of Stephen de L^vncet, Peter of the Mills, like- 
wise filled a conspicuous place in the early annals of New York. 
He man-ie'd Elizabeth, daughter of the distinguished Colonial 
Governor, Cadwallader Golden, and settled upon a large estate 
kno^vn as the "Mills," on the Bronx River, at West Farms, West- 
chester County, State of New York. He became the ancestor of 
that branch of the family knoAvn as the " Westchester de L.\ncets." 
Peter de Lancet of the Mills, like all the rest of his Loyal family, 
suffered thi'ough his fidelity to principle. 

The following beautiful lines were wi'itten by a' stranger, an 
Englishman, who visited the old de Lancet Manor, in Westchester 
Coimty, State of New York, about fourteen miles from the city of 
New York, expecting to find some memorials of that gaUant, 
comi;ly, and eminent race still existing. But alas ! in the same 
manner that war, exile, confiscation and death, had smitten and 
scattered the proud owners, so had flood fire, and improvement (?) 
laid waste or altered their once ornate possessions. A j)ine, tow- 
ering in its native majesty, alone sm*vived to mai-k the spot where 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOK-GESERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 25 

once a flom-isliing Loyal fomily exhibited its stately hospitalities 
or enjoyed the sweets of a home, the abode of prosperity and 
ability. A contrast so marked, between the past and present, 
moved even an alien, and in poetic numbers he recorded his sym- 
pathy and chronicled the desolation :" 

*' Wlierc gentle Bronx, clear winding, flows 

His shadowing banks between ; 
Whei-e blossom'd bell and wilding rose 

Adorn the brightest green ; 
Memorial of the fallen great, 

The rich and honor'd line. 
Stands high in solitary state 

De Lajs'CEY'S ancient pine. 

" There, once at early da^vn arrayed. 

The rural sports to lead. 
The gallant master of the glade 

Bedeck'd his eager steed ; 
And once the light-foot maiden came, 

In loveUness divine, 
To sculpture with the dearest name 

De LAlfCET's ancient pine. 

** And now the stranger's foot explorea 

De Laxcey's vfide domain, 
And scarce one kindred heart restores 

His memory to the plain ; 
And just like one in age alone, 

The last of all his line 
Bends sadly where the waters moan— 

De Lancet's ancient pine. 

" Oh greatness ! o'er thy final fall. 

The feeling heart should mourn, 
Nor from De Lancey's ancient Hall 

With cold rejoicing turn : 
No ! no ! the gen'rous stranger stays 

When eve's calm glories shine, 
To weep — as tells of other days 

De Lancey's ancient pine." 

Peter de Lancet's eldest daughter, Alice, married Raij^h Izaiid, 
of South Carolina, who shone as a patriot and a statesman in our 
Revolutionary struggle. Their son, George, (set down as Ralph, 
Junior, in the family tree) Izard, rose in 1814 to the rank of Major- 
General in the United States Army, which he entered as Lieuten- 
ant of the regiment of Ai'tillerists and Engineers in 1794. This 
gallant officer experienced the same fate in 1814, which was in- 



26 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

tended for Taylor in 1846-7, and was experienced by Hooker 
before Gettysbui-gh in 1863. He had just completed all the pre- 
parations to which is due the defeat of the British at Plattsburg, 
in 1814, when he was superseded by Macomb, just as Hooker was 
superseded by Meade, 

Peter's daughter, Susanna, married Colonel Thomas B.irclat, 
B. A. His son, James, was colonel of a regiment of Loyalists, and 
died in exile. Another son, Warren, displayed such gallantry 
when only fifteen years old, in the battle of White Plains, 1776, 
that he was made a Cornet of the 17th British Light Dragoons at 
that early age, 

Jane, fourth daughter of Peter de Lancey of the Mills, married 
Hon. John Watts, Junior, then Recorder of New York, afterwards 
founder of the Leake and Watts Orphan House, The bridal fes- 
tivities at Union Hill, in the borough of Westchester, on the eve- 
mng of 2d October, 1775, were sufficiently gay to receive a con- 
spicuous notice in the " Gazetteer" of the day. These were the 
grand-parents of Major-General Philip Kearny, This John Watts 
will be referred to more at length hereafter. 

Many others of the family distinguished themselves in official 
positions, and even some of those who chose a military career 
may have been omitted in this notice. Not a few of their de- 
scendants served with honor in tli Union ranks during the last 
civil war. Three great-grandchildi-en of this pan*, brothers, came 
out of the struggle with the U. S. brevets of Colonel for services, at 
the age of twenty-one, Lieutenant-Colonel, at eighteen, and Major, 
at nineteen. 

That the men of the race whose blood flowed in the veins of 
Major-Generals Stephen Watts KEiVRNY and Philip Kearny rose 
to such high commands, speaks sufficiently for then* ability and fit- 
ness for the profession which they selected and in which they shone. 
That the women of that same race chose soldiers for their partners, 
testifies in what direction then* predilections ran. Theii- children 
were worthy of then- mothers ; those mothers " worthy to bear 
men." 

Major-General Philip Kearny had a double portion of this blood, 
through his grandmother and gi-eat-grandmother. 

Will any one deny that his career was worthy of the most 
glorious of his ancestry ? • 



CHAPTER II. 

THE KEARNY AND WATTS FAMILIES AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. 

" An affectionate regard for the memory of our forefathers is natural to the heart ; it is 
an emotion totally distinct from pride. * * * They are denied, it is true, to 
our personal acquaintance, but the light they shed during their lives survives within their 
tombs, and will reward our search, if we explore them. If the virtues of strangers be so 
attractive to us, how infinitely more so should be those of our own kindred ; and with 
what additional energy should the precepts of our parents influence us, when we trace the 
transmission of those precepts from father to son through successive generations, each 
bearing testimony of a virtuous, useful, and honorable life to their truth and influence." 

Lindsay. 

As EARLY as 1716 we find a Kearny settled in Monmouth county, 
New Jersey. He came from Ireland, and was a man of note. His 
son, Philip Kearny, was an eminent lawyer, who died 25th of July, 
1775, a httle less than a year before the Declaration of Independence. 
One of his sons, Francis, entered the Royal service, and was a cap- 
tain in the corps of Colonel Beverly Robinson, known as the Loyal 
American Regiment of New York. In 1782 he appears as a Major 
in Allen's Corps of Pennsylvania Royalists. He rose to a Lieuten- 
ant-Colonelcy, went to Ireland after the war, married, and would seem 
to have settled and died there. This family were very particular 
about the sjjelling of their name, and if such a thing were possible, 
the General would tmm in his grave with indignation if he knew 
that his name was written and printed with two E's, jK" e a r w e y , 
instead oi K e am y . 

Philip Kearny, the son of the first Philip, " removed to Newark, 
and left children, whose descendants are set down as living in New 
• 27 



28 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

York." He was the grandfather of Brevet Majoi'-General Stephen 
Watts Ke^iexy, U. S. Army, and of Philip, t\te father of jMajor- 
General Philip Kearnt, Jr., U. S. Volunteers, the patriot, martyr, 
and subject of this biography. 

Stephen Watts Kearny was a student of Columbia College, in 
the city of New York, in 1812, and would have graduated in the 
summer of that year. As soon, however, as it became a certainty 
that war must ensue between the United States and Great Britain, 
he applied for and obtained a commission in the U. S. Ai-my. Oh 
the 12th of March, 1812, while still in his eighteenth year, he was 
appointed from JVevj York 1st Lieutenant in the 13th U. S. Infan- 
try. He distinguished himself particularly in storming a British 
battery, and throughout the assault on Queenstown Heights, 13th 
October, 1812. Lieutenant-Colonel CnmsTiE, commanding his regi- 
ment, himself wounded in this action, presented young Ke.vrny with 
his sword on the field of battle for the cool and determined manner 
with which he executed the command which devolved upon him. A 
companion in arms states that as " 1st Lieutenant of Captain OgiIt- 
vie's company, he (S. W. K.) enjoyed, at an early age, the character 
of high promise his after years developed. He was made prisoner 
on this occasion, and sent to Quebec," and was long detained in cap- 
tivity. He became Captain in April, 1813, Brevet-Major in April, 
1823, and Major in May, 1829. Upon the organization of the 1st 
U. S. Dragoons, he was appointed then* Lieutenant-Colonel, 4th 
March, 1833, and Colonel, 4th July, 1836. On the 30th June, 1846, 
he was commissioned Brigadier-General, was placed in command of 
the Army of the West, and made the conquest of the Province of 
New Mexico. *He received the Brevet of Major-General, United 
States Ai-my, for gallant and meritorious conduct in New Mexico 
and California, to date from the battle of San Pascual, 6th Decem- 
ber, 1846, in which he was twice wounded. He commanded the 
combined force, consisting of detachments of sailors and of marines 
and of di-agoons, in the battles of San Gabriel and Plains of Mesa, 
8th and 9th of January, 1847, and was Governor of California from 
the date of his proclamation, 1st March, 1847, down to June of the 
same year. On the 31st October, 1848, he fell a victim at Vera 
Cruz to illness contracted in the course of his arduous service during 
the Mexican war. Like his nephew, Major-General Phujp Kearnt, 
he died for his country. 

The General's brother, Archibald Kennedy Kearny, who died 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 29 

1st July, 1868, in New York city, aged 83, was a Lieutenant in tlie 
U. S. Navy dui-ing the war of 1812, '15. He commanded a division 
of gunboats stationed in the Lower Bay for the protection of New 
York harbor. 

Commodore Lawrence Keaent, IT. S. Navy, was a second cousin 
of the preceding and thu'd cousin of his nephew, Major-General 
Philip Keakny. 

PHILIP KEARNY, the subject of this biographical sketch, who 
fell a Di\'ision Commander at Chantilly, 1st September, 1862, was 
born, according to the majority of accounts, the 2d of June, 1815 — 
his brother-in-law, whose wife, Susan Kearny, had the Family Bible, 
says the 1st June, 1814, which collateral cu-cumstances would go to 
prove was the correct date — at No. 3 Broadway, in the Fh-st Ward 
of the city of New York, which, together with the adjoining building, 
No. 1, was formerly owned by his gi-eat uncle, Hon. Archibald 
Kennedy, then Captain, B. N., who married Miss Anne Wattsj 
eldest sister of Hon John Watts, Jr., who pm*chased, in 1792, sub- 
sequently lived and died in No. 3. 

No. 1 Broadway was built by this Captain Kennedy, and stood 
next to the glacis of Fort George. It was an elegant mansion, and 
only rivaled by one other in the city, that of Hon. Williaji Wal- 
ton, Esq., in Queen Street, now Frankhn Square, who married 
Maria de Lancey, niece of the first John Watts and cousin of the 
second. Mr. Walton's affluence, and generous entertainment of the 
British officers, led to the taxation of the colonies, and eventually to 
the Revolution. While the British held New York, the first story 
of No. 3 served as a Post Office, the slits remaining evident in the 
doors down to 1836. The company-rooms, lofty and spacious, were 
in the second story. When public entertainments were given, these 
latter were connected with the grand apartments in No. 1 by a stau*- 
case and bridge. These two buildings were among the very few 
that escaped the great fires of 1776 and 1778. 

Hon. John Watts, Junior, maternal gi-andfather of Major-Gen- 
eral Philip Kearny, was a man more ennobled by his generosity 
and benevolence than he could have been by any hereditary titles or 
honors. He founded and endowed the Leake and Watts' Orphan 
House, in the city of New York, one of the noblest and purest acts 
of benevolence, taking into consideration all the facts connected with 
its endowment, in the whole Hst of om* country's elemosjrnary insti- 
tutions. In regard to this, a reader will pardon the quotation from 



30 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

a speech, at one of the Anniversary Meetings : " There is yet another 
whose name we are accustomed to associate with that of John G. 
Leake, and who deserves no less oiu* admiration and om* gratitude. 
Had he been less magnanimous, less generous. than he was, this 
happy home, these invaluable privileges, would not have been ours. 
Thi'ough an informality in the will, the money devoted to the erec- 
tion and support of this institution might have become the property 
of John Watts. His it was by inheritance and undisputed right. 
But he was one of those men whose heart extent of riches cannot 
narrow or degrade — who retain, amid the luxuries and opulence of 
fashionable life, noble and generous influences. He knew that his 
claim to this property was uncontested ; yet -without reluctance, he 
yielded it to fulfil the benevolent intentions of its donor. Leake 
and Watts — theu' names are fitly associated, and worthy of being 
transmitted to the latest posterity. The rare benevolence of the 
one, the stern integrity of the other, are qualities which the Philan- 
thropist and Clu'istian will delight to contemplate, and which all will 
unite to admire. They stand out in prominent relief, in a depraved 
and sordid age, in evidence that there ai"e always spirits which 
delight to bless and improve then* race." 

This Orphan House is at once a magnificent monument to John 
Watts, the actual donor of its funds, and — thi'ough the designation 
he modestly and honorably gave it, sharing the honor by placing his 
own name second to that of anothers in the title — a memorial of his 
bosom fi^-iend and connection, fi-om whom the money was originally 
derived. It is also a witness of Mr. Watts' sorrows, since the pro- 
perty came to him through his finest son, Robert, who scarcely 
lived long enough to acquij'e legal possession of it, and died before 
he had the opportunity of enjoymg this magnificent bequest of the 
brother-in-law of his gi-eat-aunt, Margaret Watts (married to 
Major Robert William Leake* of the British Army), and the friend 
and fellow student of his father. 

This Mr. Watts was a man as remarkable for his manly charac- 
ter as for his generosity. He was full of " saving, common-sense,'* 
" that most uncommon kind of sense." In his famous " Thoughts," 

* RoBrRT Leake, the father of Major Robert William Leake, was an oilicerwho 
had seen much and varied service. He was wounded and maimed in the battle of Dettin- 
gen, in 1743, where his horse was shot under him, and he was engaged at Culloden, on the 
Royal side, in -1746. His loyalty was rewarded with the post of Commissary-General to 
the forces in North America, and in 1757 he was acting as Commissary General to the 
army commanded by the ill-fated Braddock. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 31 

Pascal, the deepest of thinkers, and acutest of mathematical rea- 
soners, whose scientific development of the proofs of Chiistianitj, 
or rather the demonstration of its truths, is marvelous in its clear- 
ness and resultiveness, declares "common sense is superior to 
genius." Besides being possessed of such admu-able judgment, he 
was a man of ii'on will, and, with his keen activity of .mind and body, 
out of place under the new order of things, since he could not stoop 
to court popularity, as public men are compelled to cringe and bow 
to obtain it in these days. Nevertheless, although he shrunk from 
office, he was called upon to fiU several positions of dignity and im- 
portance. 

He was the last Royal Recorder of the city of New York ; was 
a Member of Congress in l793-'5 ; was thi'ice unanimously elected 
Speaker of the 14th, 15th, and 16th Sessions of the New York 
Legislatui-e — January, 1791, January, 1792, and November, 1792 
— and was Judge of Westchester county, 1802-8, etc. Disgusted 
at the measures resorted to by his poHtical opponents — measures 
founded on hereditary antagonism which has outhved the com- 
petitors — he withdrew from public life, as he deemed no position 
worthy an honest man's efforts which compelled him to pander to 
the meanest prejudices of the mob to" win theii- votes. Thencefor- 
ward his attention was devoted to the care of his large estate and 
the vast interests confided to him. 

Young Philip Ke.^jeiny inherited a great many of the peculiari- 
ties of his gi-andfather, his generosity, energy, determination, love 
of horses, and wonderful horsemanship, for at the age of eighty- 
seven, when most old men are incapable of any exertion, Hon. 
John Watts was not only a splendid, but a venturesome, rider. 
Upon one occasion a horse-dealer brought him an annual to try, 
which tm-ned out to be a violent and unbroken colt, which sprang 
into the air, rearing and plunging as soon as Mi\ Watts was in the 
saddle. Thi-ough aU its struggles he sat unmoved, and when the' 
animal had become quiet, dismounted as calmly as if nothing had 
occiuTcd. 

Wlien a boy, young Phil Kearny was a reckless rider and a 
perfect horse-killer. He rode just as fearlessly over the worst as 
over the best roads. Upon one occasion, often adverted to in the 
family, while quite a little chap, eight or nine years old, he fright- 
ened his father ahnost to death, galloping his horse furiously for 
miles over an old corduroy road full of holes and inequalities. It 



32 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

must have been an extraordinary feat and escape, since it was 
often referred to by men who were too bold riders themselves to 
dwell upon anything which was not something astonishing in its 
disjilay of daring. 

Neither Philip Kearny, father nor son, were residents or citizens 
of New Jersey, in the strict sense of the word. The father inherited 
a country house near Newark, but his home was in New York. 
About the year 1820 he had a house at Greenwich, on the North 
River, about the foot of the present West Twentieth street. Gen- 
eral Kearny's mother, Susan Watis, at that time, was in very deli- 
cate health. She was a lovely character, and a charming, handsome 
woman. She died while the General was still quite young. About 
1827, Philip Kearny, Senior, lived on the east side of Broadway, 
nearly opposite to Morris street, then called Little Beaver Street or 
Beaver Lane. His nephew, who fm-nishes the facts, thinks that 
Mrs. Kearny died here, but she must have died long before this, 
for the wi'iter, who can recall facts and faces farther back than that 
date, has no recollection of her.* 

At one time it is likely the Kearny family lived in Greenwich 
street, just in the rear of No. 3 Broadway, doubtless on made lots, 
part of the river front belonging to the Watts' property, whose 
garden extended originally to the river. In fact, the waves at high 
tide and during a storm broke over an extension of the back piazza, 
thrust out to the west like the stem of a J., about midway the 
present block, between Broadway and Greenwich streets. 

While Phil Ke^vrny was still in college, his grandfather, seeing 
his inclination for the army, offored to secure to him $1,500 a year, 
a very handsome allowance in those days for a young man, if he 
would study for the ministry. " Mr. Watts thought the ministers 
had a good, safe time," and as he had lost all his sons, he did not 
wish the eldest of his only two grandsons to be exposed to the vicis- 
situdes of a career which had cost him the most briUiant of his own 
sons, George. Phil Kearny declined his gi-andfather's liberal 
offer, and as he was compelled to choose a civil profession, selected, 
much against his will, the Law, and fulfilled the usual com'se in the 
office of the Hon. Peter Augustus Jay. 

Thus, it will be seen, that one of the most dashing officers that 
ever lived came very near bemg made a clergyman. The same 

♦" She died in March 1823." G. H. K. f or E. K. July 11, 1868. 




BREVET FIRST LIEUTENANT GEORGE WATTS, 

1st U. S. Lig-ht Dragoons. 

Aid de Camp to Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott, at Chippewa, etc., 1814-'15. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 33 

thing occurred with regard to Hooker, who was destined by his 
father for the Church. A strange coincidence that " Fighting Joe" 
and "Fighting Phil" soldiers born, generals by instinct, com- 
manders of rival divisions in the same corps, narrowly escaped an 
exchange of the uniform of the army for the robes of the Church- 
militant. Hooker often alludes with humor to the overthrow of 
his father's cherished plans, when he received his appointment as a, 
Cadet to prepare himself for the saddle instead of the pulpit. 

Having alluded to George Watts, this would seem to be an 
appropriate place for presenting a sketch of this distinguished 
officei', who was a perfect type in everything, form, featm-e, disjjo- 
sition, mind and service, of his nephew. General Philip Kearint, 
like him destined a generation afterwards to fill his place as Aid to 
General Scott, and serve with him in another war equally glorious 
to both. 

On the 18th March, 1813, he was appointed fi'om New York 
Thu'd Lieutenant of the 1st U. S. Light Dragoons, and promoted 
to a Second Lieutenancy 13th August, the same year. Shortly 
afterwards General Scott selected him as an aid-de-camp, and as 
such he acted in the campaign of 1814. He was breveted Fu-st 
Lieutenant for " gallantry and distinguished service in the battle of 
Chippewa, 5th July, 1814, and for distinguished service in Browist's 
Sortie from Fort Erie." When the cavalry was reduced after the 
war, he was retained, May, 1815, in the 1st United States Infantry, 
but being a " horseback-man " by nature, he could not stand the 
pedestrian service, and resigned the 15th January, 1816. 

The following conversation, had with Lieutenant>General Scoxr 
15th AjDril, 1865, taken down at the time, afterwards submitted to 
and approved by him, is all-sufficienttestimonyof that distinguished 
General's estimate of his two aids-de-camj), uncle and nephew, who 
not only looked alike, but were alike in every quality which makes 
and adorns a soldier : 

"Lieutenant George Watts, of the United States Dragoons, 
Major, by courtesy, was my aid-de-camp during the campaign of 
1814. He was of a very alFectionate natm-e, and a very brave 
man — it might be said the bravest of the brave. He looked very 
like Philip Kearny, his nephew, likewise, subsequently, my aid-de- 
camp. If one man is more brave than another, Philip Kearny was 
that man. He was the bravest man I ever knew, and a perfect 
Boldier. 



34 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

"Lieutenant George "Watts, my Aid, saved my life on the 
morning before the battle of Chippewa. The chcumstances are 
as follows : At the mouth of Street's Creek, which empties 
into the Niagara River, immediately adjacent to the battle-iield 
of July 5th, stood a house occupied by a Mrs. Street. As there 
wore no males belonging to her family, she had applied to me 
for protection, and I had given her a safe-guard, which was 
perfectly respected, and she made money by selling milk and differ- 
ent articles to the American troops. She invited me to breakfast 
-svith her, and I accepted the invitation. I had just prepared my 
first cup of coffee, and was about to raise it to my mouth, when I 
experienced the truth of the proverb, that ' There is many a slip 
'twixt the cup and the lip.' My Aid, George "Watts, perspiring 
very freely, had risen from the table and stepped across the room 
to another table, near the window, to get his pocket-handkerchief 
out of his di'agoon helmet, or casque, which he had previously 
placed there. My cocked-hat lay upon the same table, and I lost it 
in consequence. Looking out of the window, he turned to me and 
said, quietly but significantly, ' In three minutes the house will be 
surrounded by Indians.' I set down my untasted coffee, rushed 
from the room, cleared the piazza and steps with one bound, and 
ran ' like a man ' for the bridge which communicated with our own 
side of the stream. Thus, George "Watts, by his promptness, saved 
my life, for the whole thing had been arranged by JMi's. Street with 
the intention of murdering and scalping me. She had given the 
signal by wa\dng something from the house as soon as we had sat 
down to breakfast. 

" The same night after my victory at Chippewa, I made Mrs. 
Street's house our hospital, and its rooms and the com-t-yard, in 
which I had caused tents to be pitched, were filled with om- wounded. 
"When I visited the house I found the treacherous woman and her 
daughter, a very pretty person, engaged in attending to the wants 
of the wounded British officers in the second story. I saw the lat- 
ter carrying refreshments to a wounded British ofiicer to whom she 
was engaged to be married. As she had been moving through the 
rooms filled with blood from injuries and amputations, her dress was 
completely drenched to the knee. Both mother and daughter 
avoided catching my eye, and I avoided any attempt to make them 
catch mine ; for they were women, and, as such, I could not feel ven- 
geance, although they had attempted to compass my death. As I 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 35 

said before, upon this occasion I owed my life to Lieutenant 
Watts." 

That affectionate remembrance of his aids liad not waited his 
judgment in after years is proved by the extract of a letter from him 
to General Beown, dated Queensto^vn, Upper Canada, 15th July 
1814. 

" I cannot close this account of meritorious conduct without men 
tioning the great services rendered me by those two gallant young 
soldiers. Lieutenants Worth and Watts, my aids. There was no 
danger they did not cheerfully encounter in communicating my 
orders, and by then- zeal and intrepidity won the admu-ation, as they 
had before the esteem, of the whole brigade. They both rendered 
essential services at critical moments by assisting the commandants 
of corps in forming the troops under cu'cumstances which precluded 
the voice from being heard. Their conduct has been handsomely 
acknowledged by the officers of the line, who have joined in request- 
ing that it might be particularly noticed. 

(Signed) W. Scott." 

His opinion of Kearny has been too often expressed in official 
reports, conversation and letters, to need any repetition here. 

Robert Watts, the eldest brother, living, of George, the dra- 
goon, entered the United States Army 31st July, 1813, as Captain 
in the 41st Regiment of Infantry ; but none of the family seem to 
have taken kindly to foot service, and he resigned in the same year. 
He was afterwards a Major of Volunteer Cavalry during the wai of 
1812-15. Thrown from his horse in the execution of a rapid move- 
ment, his whole command in column rode over him at speed, yet, 
strange to say, when picked up not a horse's hoof had touched him. 
General Scott spoke of him us a remarkably handsome man. He 
is stUl remembered by his cotemporaries as the handsomest man of 
his day in the city of New York ; and one who had the opportunity 
to know htm by long experience, declared that he possessed a per- 
fect temper, like his aunt. Lady Mary (Watts) Johnson, whose 
playiul himior exhilarated the whole household." 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SPRENGTIDE OF YOUTH. 

" Sometimea forgotten things, long cast behind, 
Eush forward on tlie brain and come to mind." — Dbtdsit. 

" He was a lovely youth, — I guess 
The panther in the wilderness 

Was not so fair as he !"— Wordswokth. 

" When a younker up I grew. 
Saw one day a grand review, 
Colors flying, set me dying 
To embark in life so new."— Old Sokg. 

Wnn^E tte Keaknt family lived in Broadway opposite Mon-is 
street, young Phil Kearny was a pupil at Ufford's school, on the 
west side of Broadway, on the corner of Cedar street. At that 
time he was very fond of drawing pictm'es of soldiers and designs 
of armies on his slate. Sometimes he condescended to caricatm-es 
of Mr. Ufford and his school-fellows. He always had a gi-eat talent 
for di-awing, and sometimes he di-ew well, that is, whatever was 
connected with military matters or horses. Some of his sketches 
of soldiers possessed considerable merit. If memory serves, he 
produced equestrian groups which were spu-ited. 

Philip Kearny was never a very strong or robust boy, nor given 
to any violent exercise, except riding on horseback. In the sad- 
dle he made up for his ordinary quietness of demeanor. When- 
ever he could get a horse he rode furiously, in fact he was a regu- 
lar horse-killer. 

What he was in early yeai'S is clearly depicted in a letter of the 
Rev. Dr. Ogilby, who officiated with so much eloquence and feel- 
ing at the floral decoration of his grave, in Trinity churchyard, 
New York city, by the members of Post Phil Kearny, No. 8, 
G. A. R., of the Department of New York, on Sunday, 1st June, 
1868: 

" In my boyhood we were neighbors, and, at times, playmates. 
My recollection of him is that of a mild and gentle boy, whose 

36 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 37 

dark eye was distinguished rather for softness than for that fire 
which kindled it in later life. I remember, Avhen I heard of his 
conspicuous gallantry in the Mexican war, I Avas astonished, and 
said to myself, ' Can this be the gentle boy ot my early remem- 
brance V I never met him afterwards until we were brought to- 
gether by the hand of death. In the midst of the war he came 
from the thickest of the fight to bury a child who had been strick- 
en down in the apparent security of a peaceful home. Such is our 
mortal life ! I officiated at the funeral of the child, over the same 
grave upon which the flowers were so soon strewn upon the dust 
and ashes of the father." 

At a later date he was sent to Round Hill School, at North- 
ampton, Mass. , the noted institution kept by Dr. Joseph G. Cogswell, 
afterwards the Avorld-wide known Superintendent and Organizer of 
the Astor Library, and Mr. George Banckoft, now Minister from 
the United States to the North German Confederation, the Ameri- 
can historical writer. Di'. Cogswell seems to recollect him well 
while under his charge. " In answer to your inquiries about Major- 
General Philip Kearny, while a youth at Round Hill School," he 
replies, " I can only say that he then evinced none of the military 
spii'it which in after life marked his career with such a halo of 
glory. He was remarkable for his gentle and amiable character, 
his great docility, faithful observance of the school regulations and 
for his devotion to his studies. He took high rank as a scholar, 
and was greatly beloved as a pupil. "When the school was opened at 
Cold Spring by Dr. Beck and Mr. Watson, and he left Round Hill 
and became a pupil of it, it may be that a military spirit was 
already ^tm'ing within him, and on that account he wished to be near 
West Point ;* or that, being so near that great nursery of military 
heroes, he there caught the spkit which became his passion and 
made him one of the bravest and greatest of our gi*and cap- 
tains." 

At the suggestion of Dr. Joseph G-. Cogswell, certain questions were ad- 
dressed to the Pieverend John Lee Watson in regard to the school-boy career 
of General Keakny after he left Round Hill, Northampton, Mass. To the 
kindness of that gentleman is due the following statement, which is very interest- 
ing, although Mr. Watson falls into a general error in regard to Kearny's 

. t : 

* This opinion of the excellent Doctor is mere surmise ; "West Point had nothing to do 
with Philip Kbajjnt or his merits. 



38 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ever having been a cadet.* Kearny was placed at the PhilipstoAvn school in 
May, 1830. He entered Columbia College as a Sophomore, in the fall of that 
year. 

It is reasonable to suppose the latent military element in Kearny's structure 
was kindled by the " blare of bugle and roll of drum " from across the river, 
just as the same martial notes rouse up the Cadets to their daily routine of drill 
and study. Doubtless his martial instincts responded to the clarion's call, just 
as Arthur's "war-horse neighed as at a friend's voice," when 

" Far off a solitary trumpet blew." 

This and no more. Thus much justice must concede, and truth then refuses to 
allow any more. It is much more reasonable to believe that General Scott and 
the other officers visiting the Philipsto'mi school, attracted by his family resem- 
blance, spoke to liEARNY of those gallant spirits of his race who had shone or still 
were shining in arms, whereupon feelings kindi-ed to thens awoke to life in the boy's 
mind, feelings like germs bm-ied in the earth, which only required accident and 
light to germinate, grow, flower, and fruit in great deeds. 

Philip Kearny came to our school at Philipsto^vn, in the Highlands, .in May, 
1830, with the intention of preparing himself for admission to Columbia College, 
New York, in conformity with the wishes of his friends. For a tune he piu-sued 
his classical studies with gi'eat diligence, and gave much encom-agement as to his 
future progress. But it soon became evident that all his o^\ti inclinations tended 
towards a military education. The Academy at West Point, with all its animat- 
ing sights and sounds, was constantly before his eyes ; several of his school-fel- 
lows were preparing for examination as Cadets ; a]i officer of the Academy came 
over eveiy day to instruct our pupils in Mathematics ; there was considerable in- 
tercourse between the officers of the Academy and ourselves, and also between the 
pupils who had relatives on either side ; and, besides that, Colonel Thayer and 
General Scott, both of whom had relatives under our care, visited our school at 
stated periods. All these circumstances combined to fill the mind of Kearny 
with a strong desire, or rather with a perfect passion for a military education ; 
and at last he came and told us that "he could not see his way to study for 
College any longer ; that he never should be good for anything unless he went 
to West Point, and that he would thank us very much if we would inform his 
fi-iends of the state of the case." Accordingly we advised his friends that it 
would not be wise or prudent to thwart his inclinations. 

During the short time that Kearny was with us we became very much at- 
tached to him. In liis conduct and character as a boy, the often-quoted line of 
Wordsworth seems peculiarly to apply to him, "The boy was father to the 
man." Such as he was mth us and among his schoolmates, he continued to be in 
after life in his brilliant career as an officer of our gallant army. He was bold 
and daring even to recklessness ; fond of all manly sports ; the best g^Tnnast in 
the school ; an excellent horseman, and an indefatigable pedestrian. He was 

* "West Point, July 29th, 1868 — General Kbakny never was at "West Point as a cadet. I have 
had the record of those who have reported hero examined. This is a complete record. I am 
positive he never was here." A. S. W., Brev. MaJ.-Gen., U. S. A. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 39 

always obedient and respectfiU to his instructors, and entirely submissive to au- 
tliority. As to the state of his moral or religious character, at that time, I do 
not now feel myself competent to express any opinion. * * « 

* * « * * • * 

I believe that this comprises all my recollections of ' ' the boyhood of Philip 
KeA-ENY." While I was Kector of Grace Church, Newark, New Jersey, (from 
about 1846 to 1854,) I frequently met him, and he often took occasion to say 
how much he was indebted to Dr. Beck and m)^self for the excellent training 
that he received during the time that he was at the ' ' Highland School," — as he ex- 
pressed it — "the most critical period of his life ;" he said that "it made a man 
of him." I have only to add that I took much interest in Kearny's life as a 
soldier, and during the war of the rebellion I followed his course through all his 
military operations, up to the time of his last battle ; and when I read the ac- 
count of his death I could not but call to mind the words, which, in his school-boy 
days, were so frequently on his lips, 

" DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI." 

Keaeny was seven or eight years older than the writer, and as 
he was always kept away at boarding-school, it was not until he had 
reached the age of fifteen that the latter's reminiscences of him 
commence. About the year 1830 he came to reside with his 
grandfather, Plon. John Watts, in whose house the wiiter was 
born and brought up. Thenceforward they were constantly to- 
gether for six or seven years. Even at that time Kearny was 
very jjeculiar, proud and shy, and averse to those associations 
which youths of his age generally form from impulse rather than 
from judgment. His companions were selected, with all the cool- 
ness of maturer age, for qualities which suited his prejudices — and 
these extended to everything. In the choice of friends, he was 
regulated by his own arbitrary rules of what they should be, 
rather than what they were. He was fond of di-ess, and exceed- 
ingly neat and careful of his person, and always afiected a sort of 
mihtary carriage or touch of something military in his costume, so 
that any observer would have said, " There goes a soldier in civil 
clothes, or one intended by nature for a soldier." In corroboration 
of this, the following quotation from a letter to the writer is appo- 
site : " When we were on om* way home, at West Pomt (the 
boats never landed at Cold Spring, where Keaeny was at school) 
we saw a young gentleman step on board with a Mediterranean 
cap on (you remember that cap) : I thought that that cap could 
only cover Phiixy's head, so up I jumped, and the young gentle- 
man tm-ned his head, and much to our mutual dehght, it proved to 



40 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

be good Phil, on his way to town to spend a week ; so we joined 
company, and I had the satisfaction of having him with me for a 
v^eek. He is coming to to^vn in about two weeks to be examined 
before he enters college." 

One ofthe first remarks of Kearny's, which thewi'iter remembers 
was, that whenever he owned a pair of horses, they should be named 
TUly and Count Lippe. Although so much younger, he was 
sufliciently read in history to be astonished at Kearny's partiality 
for two generals, the most marked, perhaps, in military history for 
quahties not only dii'ectly opposite each other, but diiferuig from 
those ofthe vast majority of leaders of armies. Subsequently, how- 
ever, when military reading became a passion, it was no longer diffi- 
cult to understand why Kearny selected these men as his favorites. 
The youth was father to the man. Kearny was already thinking. 
Wlien close after-study made their characters known, the predi- 
lection was no longer sm'prising. Tilly, whom his great antago- 
nist, GusTAvus Adolphus, styled the " Old Devil," on account of 
his cruelty, and the " Old Corporal " from his strict attention to 
drilling, was a thorough soldier. As an organizer and as an ad- 
ministrator he had no superior in his era, the first fourteen years 
of the " Thii-ty Years' War." As a general he was unconquered, 
until new tactics, new material, new men, grown great in their ex- 
perience under a new order of things, appeared in Germany. His 
command-in-chief, for nearly a quarter of a centmy, was a cai'eer of 
victoiy, until Gustavus shattered and ruined the magnificent army 
which Tilly had created, at Leipsic, in 1632, and finished the work 
bv putting an end to his antagonist's fame and life at the Lech. A 
persecuting priest (it has been stated that he was an affiliated 
Jesuit), in his intolerant bigotry, perfectly chaste as regarded 
women, sober, uncompromising, in his self and general discipline 
he was in many respects a consummate commander. "With him 
originated the expression, " a ragged soldier and a bright musket." 
Doubtless Kearny liked him because he was a stern and sagacious 
disciplinarian, one who knew how to knead a discordant personnel 
into that fanaticized unity which makes an army a machine, irri- 
sistible to everything but another army inspu-ed with ideas more 
potent in their influence than mere fanaticism, and sufficiently dis- 
ciplined to execute simple manoeuvres and maintain cohesion. 

As to his second favorite, Kearny had, much in common with 
Count Lippe, a quick temper, a rough tongue, an open hand, a 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 41 

compassionate heart, an acute, active mind. To their sick and 
wounded both were equally attentive, and their supervision of their 
camps and hospitals was only limited by their other pressing du- 
ties. Those who will study the life of Count Lippe, after they 
have read these pages, will find that Keabny had not studied the 
German in vain. They will perceive that he understood what was ' 
needed in a general, when he left the beaten track of popular 
opinion — always fonder of "shams," or " would-be's," or "but- 
chers," than real generals — to jjick out and appreciate a man so 
great in his influence on his times, and greater in the parts he was 
called upon to play than most of those to whom such prominent 
positions have been intrusted. A soldier who won, enjoyed, and 
retained the esteem and confidence of Feederick the Great, king 
and hero, and of Pombal, the great Portuguese minister, the 
Richelieu of his century, must have been one far above his fellows, 
at least in some grand properties, if not in the startling magnitude 
of a Ferdinand of Brunswick (under whom he served for some 
time as general of artillery) in the capacity of handling a huge host 
to advantage ; or of a Ziethen or a Seydlitz, marvelous in their 
specialty, and unsurpassed in the world's history as creators and 
leaders of cavalry — stUl equal to either, if not superior, in a combina- 
tion of qualities, which made him shine in the high and difiicult 
posts to which he was called by public opinion as the person best 
fitted to fill them. 

Count William of ScHAtnMBURG-LipPE, sometimes styled Count 
LiPPE-BucKEBURG, was a general of an enthely different type from 
Tilly; but as a disciplinarian, as a tactician, as an artillerist, and as 
a commander, in his sphere, he is chargeable with scarcely a single 
error of judgment. The officer who could convert " Westphalian 
peasants into Prussian soldiers," and " fifteen hundi-ed ragged, ill- 
paid Portuguese vagabonds, commanded by ofiicers as poor, idle 
and beggarly as themselves, into ordinary soldiers," worthy the 
name and capable of beating good troops, must have understood 
his business thoroughly. 

Two anecdotes of him attest his coolness and self-confidence : 
Dm-ing the year 1758-9, he greatly distinguished himself as a 
general of the Hanoverian artUlery (to whose command he had 
been appointed by George II.), under Prince Ferdinand of Bruns- 
wick. One day he invited a number of Hanoverian officers to 
dinner, and while the company were in the full enjoyment of the 



42 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

entertainment, cannon-shots were heard, and several balls flew 
about the tent. The company started to then* feet, exclaiming 
that the French were at hand. The Count pacified them as far as 
regarded the enemy, although it is doubtful if his explanation left 
his guests with undiminished appetites. "Do not be alarmed, 
gentlemen," said he, "I wished to convince you how well I can 
rely upon the officei's of my artillery. Accordingly I ordered them, 
while we were at dinner, to practice at the flag-staff over my tent." 
Whether the guests did feel at ease after this explanation is ques- 
tionable. But the cannon-balls continued to fly about, and, if 
memory serves, one story runs that a final shot, by hitting the 
main support of the pavilion, brought the whole structure down upon 
the company and put an end to the frolic. Had one of om" generals 
indulged in such dangerous sport, he would have been considered 
a lunatic, and Mr. Stanton would have been down on him in a 
trice for waste of ammunition and material. The Count, however, 
was not crazy. There was a perfect method in his madness, and 
he won the respect and admu-ation of every sovereign and com- 
mander under whom he served — so much so, that Joseph, King 
of Portusral, one of the most bio:oted of Roman Catholics, was 

O 7 Off •' 

willing to pm-chase the services of a rough, uncompromising Pro- 
testant by concessions and gratuities rarely made even to the most 
transcendant genius — concessions, in the case of Count Lippe, which 
cu'cumstances rendered a necessity. When he quitted Portugal, 
the king conferred upon him extraordinary honors, and gave him 
magnificent presents : six golden cannon, each weighing 32 poimds, 
mounted on ebony carriages, heavily ornamented with silver, a 
button and aigrette of diamonds for his hat, and the royal portrait 
set with the same precious stones. To these the King of England 
added a sword mounted with diamonds. 

By " Practical Strategy," — a term used by an expert in the mili- 
tary art, which di-ew down upon the wi-iter, in 1862, the thunder 
of the oldest West Point Professor, — ^by Practical Strategy 
afterwards carried out in so masterly a manner by Rosecrans and 
Sherman — Count Lippe, in 1762, gained for hunself immortal 
renown, Avithout even ventxuing to bring his badly organized Por- 
tuguese troops into du-ect collision with the Spaniards. Merely 
by skilful manoeuvi-ing, the selection of positions and encamp- 
ments by the English and Portuguese, the admu-able Spanish army 
was checked, and prevented from making an attack with advantage, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 43 

till, at length, weakened by sickness and want, it was obliged in 
autumn to retu*e from the kingdom. 

In 1776, when a new war seemed imminent between Spain and 
Portugal, the Queen Regnant of the latter kingdom desired that he 
should reassume the command of her army. Feeble health, the 
greatest di-awback to a general — Marshal Count Saxe, says, "a 
general must possess robust health" — would not permit him again 
to take the field. 

Fear was something unkno-^n to Count Lippe.* A second 
anecdote proves this. A similar one is told of General Seves, 
better known as Soliman-Pacha, a French convert to Islamism, and 
right hand to Ibrahim-Pacha, in making that EgyjDtian army Avhich 
conquered the Tm-ks so gloriously at Horns and at Beylan in 
1831, at Konieh in 1832, and again at Nezib in 1839. 

One day, while Count Lippe was strolling through his camp, a 
Portuguese soldier, incited by insane religious fanaticism, or, jDer- 
haps, instigated by a bigoted priesthood, fired at him with an au-- 
gun. The ball passed thi-ough the Protestant general's hat. With- 
out quitting the spot he called several ofiicers about him. His 
officers begged him to withdi-aw. No ; he determined to maintain 
his position until he could discover the rascal. At length he spied 
him out just as he was taking aim a thu'd time, from his tent. 
Count Lippe ordered him to be hung upon the spot. The Regi- 
mental Chaplain insisted upon being allowed to administer extreme 
unction to the culprit before he was executed. The Count refused, 
and the intended assassin was run up instanter, unshriven — a fear- 
ful- fate for one of his faith. 

That Philip Keakny, at the age of fifteen, selected two such char- 
acters as his heroes, proves that he had ah-eady read and thought 
discreetly upon military matters, since both Tilly and Count Lippe 
were distinguished rather for scientific and solid properties than 
for dash and brilliant qualities. 

Nevertheless, by a strange contradiction, although Kearny thus 
selected men of thought for his favorites, he always wished to be a 
Hussar, particularly, as he admitted, on account of the jaunty dress 

* " cfnrtljt liHmite tt gar nicljt." 

The writer has heard it stated, or else some one wrote out to one of the family, that 
Kearny was sent out of Italy, in 1859, for his too rash self-exposure. As will be shown 
from his own letter, he came very near experiencing at Solferino the same fate that he 
met at Chantilly. 



44 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and attractive service of that corps. Moreover, in youth, the 
tactics he affected were reckless cavahy charges, although convinced 
by theoretical experiment that they were made in vain against the 
resistance of a steadfast infantry and the fire of a capable artillery. 
In after life, when he aspired to a general's command, he had lost 
all his predilections for cavalry. "An officer who commands a 
cavalry regiment" — was about the amount of what he said — " has to 
perform double duty. He has in fact to drill two regiments 
instead of one, the one of bipeds and the other of quadrupeds; and 
I don't know but that the latter is the easiest to make and manage." 
While General Keaeny and the writer lived together in the 
house of their gi-andfather, from 1829 to 1834, almost all the leism-e 
time of both was spent in mimic campaigns, with armies composed 
of from fom" to six thousand leaden soldiers with perfect trains of 
artillery, and even other adjuncts of a well-jirovided host. Battles 
were fought according to a digested system, which even regulated 
what proportion of those knocked down by the mimic fire of 
musketry or artillery should be considered as dead or too severely 
wounded to take j^art in the rest of the campaign, and how many 
as slightly wounded, and how long the latter should be looked 
upon as remaining in the hospital before they were again available. 
The firing was done with small spring-guns, one shot for each can- 
non, one for each regiment or separate detachment of infantry and 
so many for each line of sharp-shooters. When the firing, alter- 
nating, had gone through both lines of battle, the different bodies 
were moved a shorter or longer determined distance, according as 
they belonged to the different arms, over spaces dictated by the 
real relative speed of the different services, whether light or heavy 
cavalry, light or line infantry, field or reserve artillery. This was 
not left to hazard, but according to a written or stipulated code. 
Field works and permanent fortifications were constructed of paste- 
board, and the in-egularities of gi'ound represented by piles of books 
and similar objects, built up in accordance with agreement before 
operations commenced. One siege lasted a number of weeks, and 
the tidy, dearly-beloved, and respected old house-keeper, wife* of a 

* Mrs. F T . This admirable woman deserves more than a passing notice. A 

sad and eventful life was hers. A debt of gratitude is due to her, for an affection and 
fidelity, motherly, as great as rare, of nearly thirty-five years, to the Watts family. 
Such was General Kearny's appreciation of her devotion to his grandfather and race, 
that he united in presenting her with an annuity which, together with her own prop- 
erty, enabled her to live con sistently with the position in life which she was entitled to fill. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 45 

former sword-master at West Point, was di-iven almost wild by the 
accumulation of dust, and the appropriation of huge dining-tables 
of solid mahogany, the pride of her heart, whose oiling and polish- 
ing absorbed the greater part of her time. Every other kind of 
table or flat piece of fm-niture was impressed, which could be drag- 
ged out of its place and made available to eke out the theatre of 
action. She could scarcely be pacified at the subsequent disorder 
of the spacious rooms and the pi'ohibition, strictly enforced, against 
sweeping and dusting, lest the bustle should knock down or dis- 
arrange the soldiers. Fleets of paste-board were even attempted, 
but maritime operations could not be made to work, since many a 
pellet which hit the sides of a vessel would level all on board, and 
then a quarrel would ensue as to how many were killed and how 
many wounded, which often ended in a fight, and put an end to 
inimic hostilities until the actual hostilities, between the leaders, 
were settled and the wounded honor of either or both was appeased. 
A very forcible shot from one of the spring-guns, close at hand, 
against a paste board shi}), had the same effect as the impact of one 
of Faeragut's vessels, when they butted the iron-clad " Tennessee" 
in the Bay of Mobile. All the poor little leaden soldiers were 
knocked off then* feet and a number overboard. As the question 
of how many knew how to swim and how many ought to be 
drowned was never taken into consideration, when the code of pro- 
cedm-e was drawn up, it led to so much argument, that the bellige- 
rents came to the conclusion of Napoleon, that it was as useless for 
them as for him to attempt the empire of the sea. Kearny con- 
tinued to enjoy this amusement even while he was in college, and . 
perhaps still longer. When he began to go into society, he took 
so much pains with his dress, and spent so much of his time out of 
the house, that he gi'adually relinquished a game which had given 
him such great delight and occupation for years. 

He used to sleep under an old but very fine engraving of 
Napoleon Buonaparte, tri-color in hand, at the bridge of Lodi, per- 
haps for the pui-pose of deriving inspiration from the pictm-e in his 
dreams. Strange to say, tlu-oughout all the military talk which 
occurred, the writer has no remembrance of his discussing Napoleon 
or his Marshals, with the exception, perhaps, of one, Suchet. His 
favorite generals, at that time, were almost all those who figured 
in wars prior to the rise of Napoleon. One reason may have been, 
there was such a total disagi-eement as to then- excellence that no 



46 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

satisfactory result could be arrived at by any discussion ; whereas, 
the achievements of those who had flourished at previous dates 
were themes which could be canvassed without degenerating into 
open ruptures — ruptures which, in after years, gi-ew out of differ- 
ences hardly more important, and yet occasioning long estrange- 
ments that were only healed by temporary absence. In such cases, 
mutual respect, affection and still higher sentiments of esteem, 
brought the cousins together again, and everything went on as 
pleasantly as if no unkind feeling had ever arisen. 

After passing through Columbia College, in New York, and study- 
ing Law in that city, he accompanied the writer to Europe in 1834. 
There his only idea seemed to be looking at soldiers and their 
manoeuvres. He would be out of bed with first dawn, to Avander 
forth and watch the exercises of a regiment of cavalry. Artillery 
he never had any eye or taste for, and then but very little for 
infantry. 



CHAPTER IV. 

IN THE SADDLE AT LAST ! 

" Arouse ye, my comrades, to horse I to horse 1 

To the field and to freedom we guide I 
For there a man feels the pride of his force, 

And there is the heart of him tried. 
No help to him there by another is shown, 
He stands for MmseK and himself alone." 

Schiller's " Wallbnstein's Lagbb." 

" Faugh-a-ballagh— clear the way, boys ! 
Never did our gallant corps 
Yield an inch of ground behind them, 
Give an inch of ground before." 

Nugent Taillefeb. 

On the 3d September, 1836, the death of his grandfather, Hon. 
John Watts, set young Philip Keaeny free, at last. For several 
years he had been.chafing under the restraints of civil life, like a caged 
eagle or panther. At once he exerted all his interest to obtain a com- 
mission in the United States Cavalry, and on the 4th (8th) March, 
1837, was appointed Second Lieutenant of the 1st U. S. Dragoons, 
commanded by his uncle, Stephen Watts Kearny. 

This able and gallant officer had only been commissioned Colonel 
of this "model regiment" on the 4th of July of the previous year, 
but he may be said to have commanded it from the first. Yes, to 
him is due the organization of the first real cavalry which 
the country possessed since the general disarmament after the 
war of 1812-15. It is true that Henry Dodge, a sagacious fron- 
tiersman, an experienced ranger, and a gallant man, was its first 
Colonel, and Stephen Watts Kearny only its first Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, but the latter was the creator and soul of that magnificent little 
body of cavalry, whose superior or equal has never been seen on 
this continent. 

"If ever there was a soldier by natm-e," are the words of one of 
his classmates in Columbia College and fellow officers in the war, an 

47 



48 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

uncle of the "\ST^"iter, who commanded a company in the regular ser- 
vice, dm-ing the war of 1812-15, before he wasof age, "if ever 
there was a man whom I considered reallj^ chivalrous, in fact, a man 
in all that that noble term conveys, that natural soldier and gentle- 
man was Stephen Watts Kearny." 

Upon the receipt of his commission, PiiiLir Kearnt immediately 
abandoned the enjoyment of all the luxuries placed at his command 
by the inheritance of a splendid fortune — equal at this time to 
$1,000,000 — and started for the West to join his command at 
Jefferson Barracks, on the Mississippi, 12 miles below St. Louis, in 
Missouri. 

It has been more than once stated in print, in this connection, 
that Jefferson Davis was Captain in the regiment at the time 
Phil Kearny was Lieutenant. This is an error. DA-vas became 
1st Lieutenant, 4th March, 1833, and was Adjutant 'in 18o3-'4, but 
resigned in 1835. Still, the moral to be deduced is the same as if they 
had met or simultaneously served. Well might Parker exclaim, 
"How widely divergent their subsequent paths of life and thought !" 
Colonel Brackett in his history of the U. S. Cavalry, says, "It 
would, no doubt, have been much better for the country had he 
(Davis) been killed dm-ing that period ; but it was designed other- 
wise, and he resigned on the oOth June, 1835. Davis, as a cadet, 
manifested a proud, haughty, and cold disposition, which he seems 
to have retained through life. He is eminently selfish, and has 
no friends aside from those who can be of use to him. Neverthe- 
less, it must be admitted that he was a good officer, and gained the 
respect of those with whom he was thrown in contact." 

What a contrast, the histories of Kearny and of Davis. Kearny 
after an honorable life — a life of patriotic duty, fulfilled to the 
uttermost — and a heroic death, was buried in the tomb of his 
fathers, amid the tears and lamentations of a people and its army, 
both of whom loved and adrnked him, and apj)reciated the great 
loss which they had sustained. Davis, after rising to the bad 
eminence which he sought to attain, fell, like Lucifer, from his 
height of pride, and continues to exist, like the arch-spii'it of evil, 
the object of scorn to every good and honest man thi-oughout the 
universe. He presents an example of great gifts perverted for the 
perpetration of the greatest crime of which a man is capable — trea- 
son : in his case a double treason, not only against his country, but 
against God's most precious gift, Liberty ; treason, for the estab- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL TEILIP KEARNY. , 49 

lishment of slavery, and the substitiition of slaveiy, with all its 
evils, for freedom ; treason against the country that educated and 
made him, which his great gifts, with nobler aims, might have illus- 
trated and glorified, as did the dead Kearny ; a country which the 
misapplied intellectual powers of himself and party persistently 
labored to betray and to destroy. 

From 10th June, 1837, to 21st May, 1839, while Kearny re- 
mained West of the Mississippi, he devoted himself with great 
ardor to mastering the details of his profession. During a portion 
of this time, 22d August, 1838, to 10th April, 1839, he was aid-de- 
camp on the staff of Brigadier-General Henry Atkinson, who com- 
manded in that region, and had his headquai-ters at St. Louis. 

Active service in the line, as well as on the staff, gave Kearny 
an opportunity of a course of double instnaction, similar to that of 
young staff officers in the French army, who, after being educated 
in then- own peculiar duties, serve for a stated period with the dif- 
ferent arms to acquire a practical knowledge of each. Kearny's 
after life proved that he profited by his opportunities. Thus he 
became proficient in details which can never be acquired for sub- 
ordinate positions (line or field) by theory, or any amount of study. 
A general, born with the genius for command, may so fit himself 
by study for a high station, that a very little practice, good sub- 
ordinates, and an efficient staff Avill enable " his genius to compen- 
sate for the want of experience," as in the cases of Lucullus, 
Spinola, Gustavus Adolphus, Toestenson, Conde, Frederic, and 
Napoleon. But this never can be the case with a line or field officer. 

Let us see what one of liis comrades says of Kearny at that 
time : " I recollect him only as an active, energetic subaltern of 
cavahy, discharging efficiently all professional obligations, and in 
personal bearing observing the most gentlemanly com-tesy towards 
his peers ; always brave, and generous to a degree that won for 
him the adrau-ation and esteem of all who knew him." 

What changes have taken place since Kearny joined his first 
command on the banks of the Mississippi ! At that time the Jef- 
ferson Barracks were as far out of town, as regarded St. Louis, as 
one of the southern tier of Westchester villages was to New 
York in the beginning of the centmy. Then, the population of St. 
Louis did not exceed, if it equalled, 10,000 souls; and it is doubtful if 
the whole State of Missouri contained as many people in 1837 as St. 
Louis and its submbs do at the present day. 



50 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" The City of St. Louis," to quote a letter of an officer, a fi-iend of 
Keaksht, written a few years afterwards, " extends over a large 
space — large enough for twice as many inhabitants as it contains. 
Many of the shops are small wooden structures ; not a few lots are 
still unoccupied, and about them, as about the whole town, there is 
an an- of dirtiness, as if the city had grown up rapidly from the soil, 
and was not yet free from much adhering mud. And such a busy 
stir as there was in the streets, and in the hotels ! The people that 
thronged the latter appeared to be generally intelligent, genteel- 
looking persons, who had come West probably for making invest- 
ments." 

The same officer, a very distinguished loyal general during the 
late war, makes the follo^\^ng remarks, worthy of preservation, in a 
letter dated June 6th, 1857, while on his way to join the army, 
ostensibly sent out to subject the Mormons to om* institutions, which 
it did not do. The army was only used in the interests of slavery. 
The wi'iter of the letter resigned in disgust ; but even then he pro- 
phesied that triumph which God has vouchsafed to Freedom. One. 
of the first prominent victims of the late struggle was the com- 
mander of those troops, that able Albert Sydney Johnston, the 
hope of the Slavocrats, who did not do then- Avork negligently in 
1858-'9,-or whenever he had an opportunity to do it. 

" Chicago— with its 109,260 inhabitants in 1860—250 miles to the 
northeast of St. Louis, where Kearny was stationed in 1837-9, was 
still Httle more than a settlement, gi-ouped around Fort Dearborn, 
' and the house of the Indian agent. These were the only edifices to 
be seen there in 1832," the year when the wi'iter quoted entered 
West Point, andthe Black Hawk War broke out. "In 1840, Fort 
Dearborn had entirely disappeared, and Chicago contained 4,853 
inhabitants." 

In 1837, the " Father of Waters" had still a population peculiar 
to itself Arks, broad-horns and flat-boats, of more or less primitive 
\J construction, barges and keel-boats, di'ifting with the cm-rent, or 

navigated by a class of men rough and n;de, but intellectually strong 
as they were physically powerful — a class wliich produced Abraham 
Lincoln — had not yet been superseded by steamboats for the general 
transportation of merchandise. 

Kearny lived to see changes, which to predict would have been 
set down as madness. Fort Leavenworth, on the border line between 
Missouri and Kansas, was then far, far out in the wilderness. When 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 51 

. Kearkt retiu-necl from Europe and his Algerian campaign, it was a 
sort of nucleus, around which border progress — the pen came near 
wi'iting civihzation, of which, in its true sense, it is very doubtful 
if there is veiy much on the border — ^had just begun to aggregate 
itself. All beyond was wilderness, in the true sense of the word. 
Then the one regiment of di'agoons, which superseded Dodge's 
"Border Rangers," sufficed to keep the Indians in awe. Now 
thanks to civilization and its inevitable whiskey and contracts for 
the benefit of pohtical favorites at Washington, then' control, in the 
slightest degree, tasks the brains of a Lieutenant-General and an 
ai'my almost as numerous as that which fought four grand battles in 
the valley, and captm'ed the capital of Mexico. 

When Keakny next appeared upon the frontier, in 1845, Fort 
Leavenworth had become a great frontier def)Ot. St. Louis had 
over 50,000 inhabitants, Missoiu'i over 500,000. Before he died, 
those sjjarsely populated regions, whose protection constituted his 
first chief duty, had become thickly peopled States. Missouri alone 
could boast of 1,182,012. Beyond these a tier of new States had 
grown up, and carried civilization 500 to 900 miles farther on to the 
plains, which, in 1837, were the domain of the Lidian, the Bufialo, 
and the Ti-apper. 



CHAPTER V. 

A REPBESENTATIVB AMERICAN. 

" Dreaded in battle and loved in hall." 

" Bold as thou in the fight, 
Blithe aa thou in the hall, 
Shone the noon of my might." — St. OliATB. 

" Prepare a banquet, and, costly let It be, 
And in magnificence bespeak my mind ; 
Whatever the East of delicacy yields, 
* * * Let the commanders. 

Worthy companions in the well-fought field. 
Be summon'd to partake. The cheerful goblet 
Shall raise our souls." * * *.— Frowd. 

" The banquet waits our presence ; festal joy 
Laughs in the mantling goblet, and the night, 
Illumined by the tapers' dazzling beams, 
Kivals departed day." — Bkowh. 

" There was a sound of revelry by night. 
And " Sanmur's " capital had gather'd then 
Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright 
The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men ; 
A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when 
Music arose with its voluptuous swell, 
Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again. 
And all went merry as a marriage bell.— Childk Hakold. 

As mentioned in the preceding chapter, "the Fu'st Regiment 
TJ. S. Dragoons was the first corps of the cavah-y arm established 
by the government, after the general disarmament subsequent to the 
war of 1812-'15. Consequently, at the time of its organization, 
and for several yeai-s afterwards, no complete system of cavalry 
tactics had been provided." Joel Roberts Poinsett — Secretary 
of Wai* under Maktin Van Buren, 1837-1841 — conceived the 
idea, in the first year of his term, of sending out to France thi-ee of 
om' di'agoon officers, "for thepm-jDose of going through the regular 
course at the " Royal School of Cavalry," at Saumur ; who, on 
then* retm'n to this country, were to compile a work on Cavahy 
Tactics, moulded on that of the French system, but so modified as "to 

62 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNr. 63 

suit the wants of oiu' own service." The three officers selected were, 
1st Lieutenant, William Eustis ; 1st Lieutenant, Hekry S. Turner, 
. /and 1st Lieutenant, Philip Kearny, Jr. The result of then- laljors 
was the Cavalry Tactics, printed by order of the War Depai-tment, 
at Washington, and bearing date 10th February, 1841,. — three 
weeks before the close of Mr. Poinsett's term of office. Colonel 
Brackett, in his History of the U. S. Cavalry, remarks : " The 
system of Cavalry Tactics adapted to the organization of the Di-a- 
goon Regiments, was authorized by Hon. J. R. Poinsett, Secretary 
of War, on 10th February, 1841. It is mainly a translation of the 
tactics of the French ser\ice, and has not been yet improved upon, 
though several attemi^ts have been made, which have all proved 
failures. I believe almost every cavalry officer of experience con- 
siders the tactics of 1841 as far superior to anything which has yet 
been introduced into our service." 

Pursuant to orders, Philip Kearny left his regiment to proceed to 
Washington, D. C, 21st May, 1839, and there received farther or- 
ders, dated 9th August, 1839, to proceed to France on special duty. 

" The Three " sailed from New York in August, and " arrived at 
Fontainbleau October 1st, 1839, where they found the TJ. S. 
Minister, Mr. Cass, on a visit to the royal family, then residing at 
the Chateau, in the midst of one of the finest forests in France, 37 
miles S.S.E. of Paris. They .were presented at Coiut by Mr. Cass, 
and had every reason to be satisfied with their reception. They 
dined twice at the Chateau, and accompanied the king to a review of 
troops at the Camp of Instruction." On the 8th October "the 
Thi"ee" were at Saumur, but Kearntt, after remaining there a short 
time, "obtained a leave of absence, and accompanied the Duke of 
Orleans, eldest son of Louis Philippe, on one," if not two, " of his 
campaigns in Africa." The incidents of that campaign — which will 
be treated of in full in subsequent chapters — were given "in a fiill 
and most interesting report," made at the time to Major-General 
Scott, commander-in-chief of the XJ. S. Army, by Lieutenant 
Keapjn-y, who, after his return from Eiu'ope, was attached to the 
staff of that General as aid-de-camp, thus succeeding, in regular or- 
der of generations, as it were, to a position of honor held by his 
imcle, George Watts, of the 1st U. S. Light Dragoons, dm-ingthe 
campaign of 1814. 

But the reader may say, Where is Saumur ? and what of the 
Military Academy ? The question is a just one. 



54 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Saumiu", about one hundi'ed and seventy miles southwest of 
Paris, is a cheerful place, gleaming from afar with its white build- 
ings, and one of the most picturesque towns, in its quaint struc- 
tures, towers, pinnacles, and sph-es, on the Lou-e. It stands on the 
left bank of that river, and prior to the " Revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes," 24th October, 1685, was one of the strongholds of the 
Huguenots, or Protestants of France, who were diiven forth from 
their native country, or worse, by that iniquitous decree. Two 
centm-ies ago it was the capital of a district in the province of 
Anjou — known as the " Saumvu'ois." The confines of this petty 
government presented exactly the outline of one of those dehcious 
pears for which France is so celebrated, and Saumm* was situated 
at the apex or root of the stem. Its captm-e by the Yendeaus, 10th 
June, 1793, was one of the grandest exploits of that marvellous 
effort of loyalty and honor. 

The Royal Cavahy School, transferred to this city from Angers 
towards the close of the preceding centm-y, is located to the south- 
west of Saumm-, and covers quite a large space with its buildings, 
riding-schools, and grounds for exercise and drill. It is destined 
to receive officers, non-commissioned officers (from three hundi'ed 
to four hundred of this grade), and even picked riders {cavaliers). 
They are instructed in every branch of information appropriate to 
their Arm, and, after a complete course, are distributed through all 
the cavah-y regiments in the army, to diffuse a complete k]iowledge 
of the horse and horsemanship and the best method of imparting 
instruction according to a uniform system. 

It is somewhat curious, just as om- thi-ee young American officers 
were sent to complete then* military education at the Royal School 
of Cavalry, at Saumm*, so Pitt and Wellington took a course of 
lessons at its predecessor, the " Academy of Equitation," at An- 
gers ; the latter, in 1785-1787. Thus the bitterest and the most 
successful enemy of France laid the foundation in a French Mili- 
tary School of that knowledge of war which led the latter — " the 
Iron Duke" of after years — through Vimiera, Vittoria, and Water- 
loo, to Paris. 

While at the Cavalry School at Siaumm', Lieutenant Keaeny de- 
termined to give an entertainment which would not only do honor 
to himself but to his country. He was incited to doing this by the 
generous sentiment -W^hich he felt for the attentions he had received 
and in order to make some adequate retm-n for the civilities shown 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 55 

by the civil and military authorities of the place to the thi'ee Ame- 
rican officers resident among them. 

The story of this ball is as follows : 

On " Twelfth Night," (1840) — an anniversary kept in Em-ope 
with almost as much exactitude as Christmas — General de Brack, 
in command at Saumur, gave a party at his residence. 

Formerly " Twelfth Night," or the " Eve of the Festival of the ' 
Three Kings," was one of those periodical seasons which have always 
been consecrated by European nations to amusement and festivity. 
Thus, we find Baeentz and Heemskerck imprisoned amid the 
Ai-tic ice, on the coast of Nova Zembla, during that terrible winter 
of 1596-7, expending their last little supply of wine in pigmy 
bumpers to the king of the festival, and with a courage and sjjhit 
without example, indulging in all the customary merrunent of 
home, which they seemed destined, in all human probability, never 
to revisit, and when they were, to all appearances, within the jaws 
of destruction. 

The Twelfth Night king was a potentate, with authority and 
functions somewhat similar to those exercised by the King of Mis- 
rule in Old English Chiistmas revels. Among the more elevated 
and refined classes of society, this festival assumed a stately char- 
acter, and became susceptible of very great display. The selection 
of King and Queen was generally left to chance and determined by 
a bean, which was placed in a cake, cut and distributed in pieces 
before the supper. The drawer of the slice containing the bean 
became King or Queen, and was privileged to select a jDartner to 
share his or her temporary regal honors. All drank to his or her 
majesty, who reigned and received homage from every one dm-ing 
the evening. In this custom originated the French title of the 
festival. The Feast of Kings ("La Fete de Rois), for which the 
revolutionary government of 1793 substituted, "The Merrymaking 
of those without breeches, i. e. Radical Democrats" ("Xa Fete cles 
Sans Culottes"), thi-ough their hatred of anything savormg of 
royalty. Before the disastrous close of the reign of Louis XVL, 
the French monarch and his nobles waited on the Twelfth Night 
king. This proves the importance given to the occasion in former 
days. 

Kearny was "prevented by indisposition from attending the 
party at the house of General de Brack on Twelfth Night," wi-ote 
the first of "the Three," who kept a sort of jom-nal of what trans- 



56 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

pired, "When the cake was cut, some of the ladies sent him a piece 
with the bean in it, and from that the ball originated. lie first in- 
tended to give a party at the assembly rooms, but the idea gradually 
expanded, and when he was offered the gi'and rooms of the school, 
he put the whole thing in the hands of some French officers, with 
' carte blanche ' as to expense. The result was a ball which 
eclipsed even the gi-and ball given by the city, some years before, 
to the Duchesse de Bekri, and which seemed to be the only notable 
event on record when we arrived there. The rooms were beauti- 
fully decorated under the superintendence of General de Brack, 
who was an artist. The supper was sent from Paris by one of the 
most celebrated restaurateurs ; flowers in profusion came from An- 
gers and other places," "each lady on entering received a bouquet of 
the choicest flowers in an elegant silver holder," " and with the mu- 
*ic of the fine brass band of the school, and an excellent string-band 
from the city, nothing was wanting to make the whole aflak a per- 
fect success. Applications were constantly received for invitations, 
many from a great distance, and if it had been delayed much 
longer, the rooms would not have held the crowd. Kearny em- 
ployed an artist who was present to make a picture of the ball, a 
copy of which he presented to General de Brack." 

Kearny's ball " was gotten up in a style of magnificence that was 
wholly unprecedented in that part of the country" — these are the 
words of another eye-mtness, the second of "the Three." It was 
"given 11th February, 1840, and presided over by the Commandant 
of the School, General de Brack," Avhose A\"ife Kearny selected as 
the Queen of this substitute Twelfth Night merry-making celebra- 
tion, and it was attended by all the prominent people of that parti- 
cular section, and by many from Paris and elsewhere. It was in 
every respect a brilliant affau-, and procured for General Kearny, 
from the inhabitants, the most enthusiastic acknowledgments, for 
the liberality he had displayed in thus contributing to then- enjoy- 
ment. An artist Avas engaged to make a picture of the scene on 
canvas. In this he was very successful in giving admu-able like- 
nesses of several prominent individuals." 

The only discrepancy, in the recollections of those who participated 
in the festivities, is as to Avhether the town or the giver of the fete 
employed the artist who executed the picture which commemorated 
this gi'aceful evidence of Kearny's patriotism and grateful appre- 
ciation of the com'tesies of the French government and officials, but 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 57 

more particularly the attention of the officer in command. At all 
events, by whomsoever commanded, the original picture, or a copy 
of it, was a prominent object, at the time of the General's deatli^ 
among the paintings which adorned his spacious and elegant man- 
sion, at Belle Grove, on an elevation opposite Newark. This 
building stands on the site of a country residence which, prior to 
the Revolution, belonged to his grand-aunt, whose husband built and 
dwelt in No. 1 Broadway, a very fine building for its date and the 
young city of New York, and originally owned the adjoining No. 3, 
in which Keakny was born. 

This painting is on too small a scale to do full justice to the occa- 
sion, but it affords some idea of its splendor, attributable in a great 
measm-e to the variety, grace, and elegance of the numerous uni- 
forms of the Turkish, Polish, American, and French officers belong- 
ing to the different arms and services, which filled the room — uni- 
forms, of whose richness and contrast, our people, accustomed to 
the universal sameness of our present blue, tame and simple, can 
have no idea whatever. At that time the Turkish and Polish mili- 
tary costumes were still, if not the most serviceable, the most strik- 
ing in Europe. They were susceptible of any amount of decora- 
tion, almost as much so as the Hungarian, with its plumes, em- 
broidery, jewels, lace, buttons, jacket and dolman. All that is most 
attractive in the dress of the Chasseurs d'Afrique — to which Kearny 
was afterwards attached — was borrowed from the Polish ; every- 
thing which looked well and yet was serviceable, just as the Zouaves, 
was modeled on the Turkish military costume. All that was re- 
jected was those details which were in reality unmilitary and un- 
fitted for active service. All that was good and good-looking was 
retained. And, yet, Kearny told the writer that his own uniform, 
that of the American Light Dragoons of thirty 'years ago, was as 
efi'ective and imposing as any in the room. Doubtless he made it 
so, although it was very jaunty in itself. The coatee, blue, double- 
breasted, was not a frock, but cut in a much more graceful fashion; 
the collar, cuff and turn-backs, bordered with lace and ornamented 
and trimmed Avith gold, pantaloons, blue-gray mixtm-e, known as 
light army-blue, with two stripes of orange cloth up each outward 
seam ; the cap, such as the French term " shako," with drooping^ 
white horse-hail" pompon, or rather plume, silver and gold ornaments, 
and gold foraging cords and tassels. The latter could be detached and 
worn over the coat and around the neck, producing the effect of an 



58 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

aiguilette. The sash was silk net, of a deep orange color, which, if 
made in France, as the writer has seen them made, shone in the 
glancing lights like a waving zone of gold. Thns Kearny de- 
scribed it, and thus onr officers did not make a bad show among the 
dazzling di-esses whii-Ung in the waltz, or polka, or promenading 
about. 

"VVTien Keaent resigned, in 1851, the same striking and elegant 
uniform was still worn by our Dragoons ; and the writer will never 
forget his expression and manner, when he came back in 1861, and 
saw some of his o^vn regiment again, in Washington, after the 
lapse of ten years. " I left them," said he, " a set of elegant gentle- 
men, and now I come back and find them a set of dirty black- 
guards." The Dragoons at the National Capital certainly did not 
present an attractive appearance in Maj^, 1861: especially in the 
horrid felt hat of an "Italian bandit," — as some one styled it — 
which Jefferson DA'sas, while Secretary of War, had clapped on 
their heads. 

That this ball must have been something extraordinary, there can 
be no doubt, from the glowing accounts given of it by those who 
were present, and Kearny's lavish expenditure, doubtless, did make 
a strong impression on a people so susceptible to display as the 
French, particularly at that period, when extravagance had not 
attained the vast proportions it has reached under Louis Napoleon. 
That it must have cost a very large sum, is certain, from the horror- 
stricken expression of Kearny's agent, when called upon to remit the 
necessary moneys. He threw up his hands, as if the young repre- 
sentative of American munificence had lost his senses. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 59 

DOCUMENTS. 

The following letters, received from the TJ. S. War Department, 
Washington, D. C, arrived too late for incoi-poration, and are 
therefore printed and added entire. The author hereby acknowl- 
edges the assistance of Brevet Major-General E. D. Townsend, 
Assistant and Acting Adjutant-General TJ. S. A. 

Saujiub, October 12, 1839. 
Monsieur Lieutenant-Comjixndeii MICHAUD: 

Sir : — Let me take the liberty of consulting with you, (as you are the officer to 
whose charge the General has entrusted us), on the course that I had best pursue 
whilst at Saumur, to answer the end that government has in view in sending me 
abroad. And to do so let me first explain the organization and the origin of our 
regiment. 

At the close of our late war with Great Britain, in 1815, our cavalry regiments 
were disbanded. In 1833, after one of our Indian wars had proved the necessity of 
having cavalry on the frontiers, ours, the First Eeginaent of Light Dragoons, was 
raised. It was organized, not by squadrons, but by companies, each company hav- 
ing a captain and a first lieutenant and a second lieutenant. It was officered 
principally by officers taken from the infantry. Everj'thing was new to them. ' 
The cavaliy regulations for the manoeuvres were taken from the French, almost 
literally translated. But as for police and the internal administration of the regi- 
ment, and evertliing else of that kind, there was no other pi-ecedent than as far as 
the experience om- officers had had whilst in the infantry — some had been in for 
many years ; the present Colonel for more than twenty years, having served during 
the war. 

Thi'ough the zeal of our officers, and from our being kept constantly actively 
employed in sending detachments through the Indian country, our system and 
disciplme has been rendered nearly complete. But as in cavalry, which, like the 
French, has been kept progressing in perfection ever since the great wars of 
Europe, everything useless has been rejected, and everything requisite is practiced 
in the best manner. It is for the pm-pose of making a statement of the differ- 
ences that exist between our omu and the French cavalry, that I have been sent 
abroad. 

My object is to remain at Saumur for six months, for the puqaose of acquiring 
the French language, becoming instructed in the use of the sword, and of arms 
pcrtaming to cavahy ; to follow a course of riding, but rather the " pratique" than 
the theory, and more especially for gaining ideas generally, to assist me in the 
more thoroughly visiting and making observations on the regiments themselves. 
Secondly, to visit some of the best dragoon and light cavalry regiments ; proposing 
also, should it be ad\'isaljle and meet with the approval of our Secretary of War, 
to \'isit the regiments in active service in Africa. 

The result of these observations is intended to make known to our government, 
and more particularly to the Colonel of our regiment, the differences that exist in 
the organization, in the manoeuvres, in the police, in the administration, and in 



60 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

all tlie internal regulations of the French cavalry and our o^vn. Also, to inform 
myself of the course i:)ursued vnth the soldier from his joining as a recruit till 
admitted to the squadron. 

Your advice as to the consideration of the above points will be esteemed a great 
favor and Idndness by 

Y'our obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, 
Second Lieutenant First Dragoons. 
Lieutenant-Commander MiCHAUD, 

Instructor of the School of Cavalry. 



■ - SAtrnuB, October 16th, 1839. 
HOXORABLE J. R. POINSETT : 

Sir : — We arrived here last Monday a week, and reported to general BRACK, 
the commandant of the school, on the following day. 

I liave not written to you before, from irty not having had anything satisfactory 
to communicate. , I am now happy to say that, at least as far as I am concerned, I 
will be enabled to accompUsh at Saumur the objects proposed. As I understood 
from you in our first interview at Wasliington, it was your intention, in sending 
Lieutenants EusTis and Turner, that they should remain o^e year, and accom- 
plish in that one year, as far as they were able, the studies pursued by the students 
in the course of two years — the usual term at Saumm-. 

For myself, I had the highly gratifying honor to have been selected originally 
with the same intent, but finding myself situated in a manner that rendered my 
sta}' in the army uncertain, I considered myself in honor bound to explain to you 
the circumstances. I had the satisfaction to find that my motives were understood, 
and the honor of being sent abroad on a leave" of absence, having military subjects 
for its purpose. 

I have repeatedly regretted that j^our being obliged to leave Saratoga so imme- 
diately after j'our arrival (which I had not been aware was yowc intention) pre- 
vented my seeing you to converse with you in a more particular manner as to the 
precise disposition of my time whilst a.broad. 

At Washington, you spoke of my entering Saumur under the sanction of our 
government, and remaining there with the others for a few months, and then, by 
traveling, to make myself acquainted with the interior economy, and all that was 
connected with the French cavalry, by observing, as an eye-mtness, what was 
actually practiced in the best regiments — communicating the same to you un- 
officially, by letters, or by a private report on my return — though, as I under- 
stood it, rather l)y accumulating facts, by which j-ourself and our Colonel would 
be enabled to institute comparisons between the utility of the practices of our own 
and the French I'egiments. 

I think that in our conversation you did not fix a precise time for my stay at 
Saumur, but rather left it to myself to remain a few months. Had I had a 
second interview with you on this subject, I would have requested you to name 
the pi'ccise time. But as that did not occur, and to fix on a precise time in ad- 
vance was necessary for regulating my studies here, I determined it at six months, 
that being about the time you would have recommended, and decidedly the period 



BIOGKAPHT OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 61 

best adapted for the objects for which I have come abroad. For six months 
could not be more serviceably spent than in mastering the French language, 
availing myself of the riding-school, and becoming instructed in the sword exer- 
cise, and in the use of arms proper to cavalry, and more particularly the gaining 
ideas to enable me to study most advantageously the regiments that I shall after- 
wards visit. 

The eleves of St. Cyr, and all foreign officers (there are at present here two of 
the cideoant Polish and Turkish services), are put under the immediate direc- 
tions of one of the Instructors. We have been placed under the charge of Lieu- 
tenant-Commander MiCHAUD, an officer who stands high in his profession, and 
who, even in tliis short time, has evinced a degree of polite attention that merits 
our sincere thanks. 

Finding that our situation generally, and more particularly my own, was not 
fully understood, I wrote, as to a friend, to this Mr. MiCHAUD, explaining, in a 
few lines, the natm-c of my mission. This was translated into the French by our 
Professor of that language, an Englishman, but one who had been recommended 
to us as being thoroughly master of the French from a fifteen j'ears' residence. 
A copy of the same accompanies this communication. It was handed to General 
Beack ; he approved of it, and under his authoi-ity Mr. MiCHAUD told me that 
he understood and entered fully into my views, and would, through his instruc- 
tions, enable me to attain the objects I proposed. Let me take the liberty of as- 
suring you that there could not be rendered a greater favor, both individually and 
as from the Institution, than this permitting me to pursue an unusual course at a 
school where, as at West Pointy there are none but regular classes. The course is 
two years, and each year and part of a year has its particular branches of study ; 
and on my part, let me assure you that, if assiduity and zeal for my profession 
•will avail anything, an opportunity like this shall be improved to the utter- 
most. 

In my letter to Mr. MiCHAUD, you will perceive an allusion to my visiting 
some of the French regiments serving in Africa. Should you have no positive 
objections, I think that this and the particular regiments that I visit had better 
be left to the advices that I may gain in conversation with General BRACK — an 
officer who distinguished himself whilst in the Imperial Cavalry, and also with 
other officers here. • 

In the course of a few days, Messrs. EUSTIS, Tukxer or myself will give you a 
more concise account of the school ; as a cursory remark, I inform you that there 
are two classes of officers among the students here. The class to which wo shall 
bo attached, though their course does not commence till January, is that com- 
posed of the eleves of St. Cyr — St. Cyr being a preparatory school for the Infantry 
and Cavalry officers. Those who are intended for the Cavalry, after finishing their 
course here, are gent to Saumur to learn CaValry duties. The other class of stu- 
dents are called the " Officers from the Eegiments," that is, they are officers who, 
before coming here, have already served for some years with their regiments. 

Besides the department of Instruction are three other military branches con- 
nected with the Institution : one is the School for Non-Commissioned Officers — the 
best and most capable of the privates being selected and sent here to be prepared 
as non-commissioned officers for their regiments. The second branch is for the 
instruction of their cavalry bands — boys— the sons of Gendarmes and old sol- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 62 

diers being sent here, to be rendered musicians previous to being admitted into the 
regimental bands. ThS effect of it is plainly visible ; and I doubt if the English 
bands, though sustained at enormous expense by the officers, can equal the French. 
The third branch is the School for Farriers. It may be added, though not 
appertaining so immediately to the military, that there is connected with the 
school a very large Government Haras, numbering some as beautiful animals as I 
have ever seen, many of them Arabs, many, too, of English blood, all being des- 
tined for the use of the Institution. 

Sir, again let me apologize for thus addressing you unofficially, but such I 
believe is your desh-e, and is the only mode for an officer communicatmg direct 
with the War Department. 

Sir, with all respect, &c., 

Your most obedient servant, 

P. KEAENY, 
Second Lieutenant First Dragoons, 
The Honorable 

J. R. Poinsett, 

Secretary of War, Washington. 



CHAPTER VI. 

EL TELL AND EL SERSOUS. 

FKANCE IN AFRICA. 
" I speak of Africa." 

Shakspe are's "Hbnbt IV." 

" Behold the African, 
That traverses the vast Numidian deserts 
In quest of prey, and lives upon his bow.— 

Addison's "Cato," 

"COMBATTRE ET SOUFFRIK." 

" Journal de V Expedition et de la Betraite de Constantine en 1836 / par un Voluntaire, 
OJicier de PArmee Afrique." 

KEARNY IN ALGIERS. 

Sicily was considered the training ground of the Roman and 
Carthaginian armies, contending for the Empu-e of the Mediter- 
ranean. Algiers has been the training ground of the French Army 
— dreaming of another Em'opean career of conquest and spoliation 
like that which they enjoyed under the Fu'st Napoleon. The 
present French ruler seems never to have forgotten a remark made 
by Frederick! the Great: "That if he were King of France, not 
a shot would be fired in Em'ope without his permission." It is a 
very hard school ; it forged and tempered the steel-heads of those 
columns which did the fighting in the Crimea; who stormed the 
heights at Alma; brought succor at Inkerman; captured the 
Malakoff, and wi*ested victory from the Austrians in 1859, from 
Monte Bello to Solferino. 

Although a tropical land, the vicissitudes of the temperature are 
as fearful as those which convert iron into steel. In the mountain 
regions, only a short distance from the coast, the changes are almost 
'incredible. In the retreat of the first expedition against Constan- 
tine — 23d November to 11th December, 1836 — ^the French sufiered 
as much from snow and cold as they did in other yeai's fi'om heat. 



64 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

This retreat, in many of its hardships and perils, was a repetition iu 
miniature of the retreat from Moscow, 1812. Indeed, some of the 
old officers declared that daring tliis campaign of seventeen days 
they liad encountered in Africa the icy cold of Moscow and the 
bottomless mud of Warsaw. No wonder Kearny did not con- 
template the mire of the sacred soil vnth. a di'ead equal to that 
of McClellan, after floundering tln'ough that of Barbary, road- 
less, and soaked with the continual and severe rains of that zono. 

During the second siege of Constantino, which was successful, 
one French regiment was exposed "for fifty hours, without rest or 
sustenance, to a pelting storm of snow and rain." 

Lieutenant Raasloff, of the Danish Artillery, a very prominent 
officer, who, like Kearny, participated, as a volunteer, in the cam- 
paigns of 1840-41, relates a very interesting anecdote of this retreat, 
fi'om commencement to end a series of the most fearful sufferings, 
labors, and privations. One of his friends, who was present, told 
him that after twenty-four hours of almost insupportable miseries, 
he mustered his energies to enable him to live through the comingr 
night, which promised no alleviation of them, standing, leaning 
against his horse and holding him by the bridle. Two private sol- 
diers, wrapped in their cloaks, had lain themselves down in the deep 
mud at his feet. After they had remained quiet in this uncomfor- 
table position for some time, one of them suddenly roused himself 
into a sitting position and exclaimed : " Well, I declare, I wonder 
what they are playing at the Varieties Theatre (in Paris) to-night," 
after which he sank down again into the sleety slush and slumber 
of exhaustion. When the day broke, Raasloff's friend sought to 
awaken the two sleepers, but in vain. They both slept the sleep 
which knows no waking. What an illustration of the careless dis- 
position of French soldiers, and under such cu'cumstances ! 

Then again, during the operations in summer, the heat almost 
sm-passes belief In some of his letters, Kearny spoke of men and 
horses falling dead around him from the heat under a burning sky, 
like the heaven of brass prophesied to the Israelites as a curse. 
Notmthstanding, the French troops were called u^^on to undergo 
marches and privations — such as it is almost impossible to conceive 
that men can survive, especially dm-ing the season of the Simoon, 
or wind from the desert. Life at times becomes a burthen to them, 
and the exclamation is quoted as made by more than one : "I wish 
that the Bedouins would grow out of the gi-ound by millions and 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 65 

put an end to lis all." All this, however, realizes the truth of the 
proverb, "Fatigue and privation render the soldier careless of 
danger," and, or yet make the best soldiers. 

The writer can speak, to some extent from personal experience, 
in regard to the climate in the fall. Suffering from a disease of the 
chest, lie made a trip to Algiers in 1851, in the latter part of the 
I month of November, which C a stellae, an old African campaigner, 
styles "the Father of Tempests " {le pere des tempetes). The party 
experienced the truth of this remark. They looked forward to a 
trip over summer seas of not over forty-eight hom-s' duration- 
Vain hope ! Worse weather and more wicked seas were never encoun- 
tered on the ocean. It Avas not only tempestuous, but the wind was 
intensely cold and penetrating, one of those terrible piercing north- 
westers, descending from the snow-clad Cevennes and Pyrenees, 
which share dominion with the Mistral, whose cradle is the ever- 
lasting snows and glaciers of the Alps. These are the winds which 
render the south of France so dangerous to persons affected with 
weak lungs, and make the navigation of the " Gulf of the Lion " — 
not "of Lyons," as it is now wi'itten — so perilous dm'ing the late fall, 
winter, and early spring. 

The Merovee left Marseilles, 15th November, at 2 p. m., in one of 
these gales so fierce that the steamer, instead of putting forth on 
its du-ect course, crept along the French coast not five miles fi-om 
the land until off Cape Creux, one hundi-ed and eighty-five miles, 
where the mountains are thrust forth just north of the Gulf of Ro- 
sas. Thence the vessel was steered for the straits between Majorca 
and Minorca, passing in sight of the former and of Cabrera — a den 
of horrors for the French prisoners taken by the Spaniards during 
the Napoleonic wars — and then dnectly south for Algiers, where it 
arrived on the 18th, about 11 p. Mj, having consumed eighty-three 
hours in accomplishing what the passengers Avere assm-ed would 
take only forty-eight. Amid all the discomforts of this passage, 
there are incidents which linger on the memory like glimpses of 
fairy land. On the 17th the passengers had a magnificent view of 
the Spanish coast, with the Pyrenees rising in all their grandeur, 
one sheet of glistening snow, Uke a vast succession of pyi'ainids 
of polished Pentelican marble, and on the night of the 17th, in per- 
fect contrast, the shores of Majorca — where the best oranges eaten 
in France are gi'own — ^were plainly visible, all bathed in lovely 
moonliffht. 



66 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Finding Algiers anytliing but a suitable place for an invalid, and 
the temperatiu'e entirely dependent upon the sun, Avhich did not 
shine auspiciously, since it poured almost the whole time, the party 
determined to seek a more propitious climate. While the sky is 
clouded and the rains fall, fires are indispensable for those who do 
not enjoy good health and are accxistomed to such a comfort ; then 
when the sun does come out, the contrast makes the heat almost in- 
supportable. While in Algiers, the party saw all that was to be 
seen ; ascended the mountain Sahel, in the rear of the city, looking 
down upon the plain of the Metidjah, where Phil Kearnt fought 
in 1840, the last time that the Arabs ventm-ed a descent into the 
fertile lowlands, between the Sahel and the Lesser Atlas, an intervale 
varying from fifteen to twenty-five miles in width — many remem- 
bered an American officer who distinguished himself the last time 
the Arabs descended into the plain — drove in and out the different 
gates through the new and stupendous fortifications, and along the 
splendid military roads ; climbed to the ramparts of the Emperor's 
Fort ; visited the son of the last Mufti, himself an old man, at his 
villa a few miles outside the walls, who did not think much of the 
French, but seemed to have the highest respect for the broadsides 
— which he had heard — of England and America: threaded the lanes, 
and roamed through the Cazbah, the former palace of the expatri- 
ated Deys ; in fact viewed everytliing except the interior of a 
mosque — and that no one cared to enter for fear of cold, or adding 
to it, from walking on damp floors with bare feet — a sacrifice visit- 
ors must make to then' curiosity, since everyone had to take off his 
boots or shoes. 

The return passage occupied nearly five days, in consequence of 
a succession of fierce blows. The Merovee sailed from Algiers on 
the 20th, at 1 p. m., in the height of a strong Libecchio or south- 
wester, and, with a heavy sea running, steered toward the Islands 
of Majorca and Ivica, passing so close to the former that the city of 
Palma — its capital — ^was distinctly seen. On the 22d, 2 p. m., when 
off the Gulf of Rosas, the Mistral burst from the N. E. like a 
thunderbolt upon the steamer, with the fmy which makes it a terror 
at this season to those who navigate these waters. The tempest 
and the sea leaped into existence simultaneously, as if they had 
been evoked by the wand of an enchanter, and the vessel was 
struck down and deluged with water in an instant. No descrip- 
tion can do justice to a veritable Mistral, or give a just idea of its 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 67 

powers. A very ugly heavy sea rose like magic. Almost the first 
filled the whole deck, crowded with soldiers, well, sick, and wounded. 
The captain hoisted jib, put the helm up, wore ship, and ran for 
the port of Palamos, as the nearest safe harbor, Rosas not being 
sufficiently good holding groimd. While rounding to, the light iron 
boat was almost rolled over, the gunwale went under, decks flooded, 
wind howling; but once before the gale, all right, although the sea, ' 
bright green, foam-crested and streaked, followed like a wall, 
threatening to poop the steamer — that is, break over the stern — 
and sweep the decks, and reared like a wall before. All the time 
the sky was as serene and beautiful as possible, and the sun shone 
in all its brilliancy ; meanwhile the wind raging like fury. With 
the first gust the captain remarked : " The Mistrao" — so they call it 
in then- patois — "was a good broom; it swept the sky clean." And 
so it did, and \asibly, driving before it the dense masses of clouds 
like vast flocks of sheep hunted by dogs, and in a very few minutes 
the vault above was one vast expanse of blue, undefiled by a single 
stain. 

Palamos seemed quite a pretty place, or rather a series of villages 
than one continuous town — with houses and churches constructed 
of stone — ^pictm'esquely disjDosed around a cu'cular bay, well pro- 
tected from the prevailing winds. Some of the houses were on the 
beach almost at the water's edge, the others a little back in the 
gorges of the hills — apparently well cultivated and handsomely 
wooded — ^Ti^hich surrounded the harbor like the wall of an amphi- 
theatre, while the main town at the Eastern extremity of the bay 
has a mole and breakwater sheltering quite a commodious although 
small port. There were a nmnber of vessels at anchor here, one a 
bark, the rest large-sized coasters. On Sunday, 22d, 6 p. m., after 
twenty-fom" hours' detention, the wind having subsided, the Mero- 
vee put to sea, but, at the same spot as the day before, off Cape 
Creux, was assaUed by a second and severer edition of the Mistral, 
and driven back to Palamos. On Monday morning, 23d, 2 a. m., 
anchor was weighed a second time, and at 11 p. bi. on the 24th the 
party landed in Marseilles in another rain storm. This is a worse 
climate than America. When it don't rain, oh, how it blows, so 
cold, so bitter cold ! A calm, quiet, joyous day, and clear sunshine, 
seem incompatible. Rain and lowering skies and murggy, warm, 
damp weather, with poming or soaking rain, always go together. 
On board the steamer there were said to be five hundi-ed soldiers, 



68 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

mostly invalids, many with constitutions prostrated with African 
fever. Whether drenched from the waves, which broke over the 
vessel, or the rain, which fell in floods, succeeded in the Gulf of 
Perpignan by the Mistral, which — while it broomed the sky of 
clouds and unveiled the sun — ^brought with it the piercing cold of 
the Alpine snows and glaciers, these soldiers had no shelter what- 
ever, for five days, but a saU stretched across the bow, simply to 
break the force of the icy gale. 

Allusion has been made to the condition of the five hundred invalids 
on board the Merovee, during the return trip. This was nothing to 
the crowd on the passage to Algiers : it seemed as if there was scarce- 
ly an inch of the deck but was occupied with soldiers, colonists and 
then- wives, children, and all those who could not afibrd to pay for 
better accommodations. The tempestuous weather was bad enough 
for those unaccustomed to it, but it was the intense cold that made it 
so terrible to these exposed human beings. The wind, descending 
firom the snow-clad Alps, Cevennes, and Pyi-enees, penetrated like 
"gimlets of ice;" and it was stated in Algiers that on board a naval 
transport, the " Pluton," from Toulon, loaded with troops, which jDut 
into Minorca, one or two men died from the effects of the cold, and a 
nmnber of others — " a dozen" was the word used — were so severely 
frost-bitten as to become, comparatively speaking, invalids for life. 
These troops were not either sick or wounded, returning from 
Algiers with broken constitutions — who make the transit, whatever 
may be the state of the weather, without shelter on the open deck — 
but healthy reinforcements from the mother country. 

Laiviping, a German officer, who served in Africa in the " Foreign 
Legion," who spoke from experience, testifies, that " a jjickled her- 
ring has more space allotted to it in the barrel than a soldier on 
board a French (Mediterranean) steamboat." 

" During the summer the surface of the Mediterranean is almost 
as smooth as a mii-ror. The blue transparent water looks so gentle 
and harmless that one can scarcely believe in the terrific powers 
which slumber in its bosom. In the later autumn it entu-ely alters 
its character : storms, and frequently even hurricanes, render the 
African coasts the most dangerous in the world." 

The changes of temperatm-e in the province of Algiers itself, 
present contrasts just as startling as the sea which bathes its shore. 
In mid-summer the thermometer rises to lOO'^, and in the Avinter in 
the mountain regions, snow storms rage with violence. As a rule, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 69 

in the sirring and early fall, and always during the summer, the 
extreme heat is constant in the plains and valleys. Amid the 
mountains, however, sudden storms occur when the thermometer 
Hills, to such a degree that the soldiers suffer as much from the cold 
and wet as they had previously from the heat and di-ought. In the 
fall, winter, and spring the rains are very cold, and often of long 
contintiance. The author of "A Summer in the Sahara," writing from 
Medeah, 22d May, 1853, records that even at that late period "Winter 
still kept his foot planted on the white summits of the Mouzaia," and 
on the 28th October, 1840, the summit of the Djcbel Mouzaia, or 
else the Beni Sala, visible from the north through the Pass 
of Tenyah, is represented like a glistening pyramid of frosted silver. 
This must be the mountain, Nador, alluded to by Castellane, 19th 
November, 1840, which rises to the north of Medeah. He says, 
"the last platoons of the rear-guard disaj^peared behind Mount 
Nador. The last image, the remembrance of France, seems to have 
withdrawn." These, however, maybe exceptional cases, although it 
would seem not, since a deserter related the following curious 
anecdote of the Emir's troops, who occupied that pass in October, 
1840. "The Ai*ab Regulars in order to protect themselves against 
the cold, stuck each one his leg into the wide pantaV>ons of his next 
neighbor, and thus lay down to sleep, chained or trowsered together, 
as it Avere, in one mass." Had the alarm been sudden, "The 
Philistines are upon thee," they must either have been all captm'ed 
or slaughtered. Fortunately, they had time to disengage them- 
selves before they were attacked by the French troo23S. Tliis 
proves, however, that it must have been exceedingly cold to compel 
acclimated men to resort to such an expedient to- keep themselves 
warm in the presence of the enemy. 

Ra ASLOFF, at another place, furnishes statements which prove what 
a fearful mortality attends the campaigns in this fitful climate. In 
1840 — the year when Ke^vkny won his sj^urs, and first saw fire — 
during the months of July, August, and September, there was a 
monthly average of 14,000 sick, and during the last five months of 
that year 7,000 died in the military hospitals in Algiers. This does 
not include those who were sent back to France to die or recover 
there. 

In the year 1841, the number of days during which patients were 
on the sick list amounted to 2,269,588. These, divided by 75,000 
men, give 31 days in the hospital for every military man in 



70 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Algiers. During this same year, the mortality in the hospitals in 
Africa was 7,812, to which must be added 484, who died on their 
passage back to France, or in the hospitals there. Total, 8,296, or 
over 11 1-2 per cent, of the eifective force of the army. 

As to the mortality and suffering among the beasts of burthen, it 
was almost incredible. Not a single expedition took place which, 
when it terminated, might not have been justly termed disorganized 
in a far greater degree than om* own dear Ai"my of the Potomac, on 
the 2d September, 1862, when, to elevate the rehabilitating powers of 
McClellan and his favorites, it was represented to be in such a 
shocking condition. If any officer wishes to appreciate the hard- 
ships of a soldier's life, he has only to make one campaign in Africa, 
to comprehend all its labors, privations, hardshij^s, and dangers — ^the 
worst, since the climate engenders diseases which assail the body 
through the mind as well as through the ordinaiy channels. One 
of these is nostalgia, or home-sickness, to which Raasloff and Lamp- 
ing both feelingly allude. The other is that inexplicable depression 
of sj)irits — very similar in its effects to the preceding, but yet not 
altogether the same, which too often converts a slight or cm-able 
wound into a dangerous one, or mortal, such as neither surgeon, 
medicine, nor any amount of care can alleviate. 

To show of what indomitable stuff Phil Kearny was made, 
when he left Saumiu" to proceed to Algiers he was so ill that he had 
to be carried to his carriage, and one of his comrades ^vi'ote out to 
the United States that "he would not be at all surprised if Keaent 
left his bones in Africa." Whether it was that intense mental 
excitement overcame any physical weakness, there Avas something 
astonishing in the manner in which the climate of Algiers, so 
trying or fatal to the majority, agreed with him. One of his rela- 
tives refers to this at the time, quoting from one of his letters, that 
while he was dashing about and fighting for the love of the thing 
under the burning skies of Africa, when men and horses were fal- 
Img around him from the effects of the intense heat, he was breath- 
ing in health and strength, and retui-ned home in robust health. 

Having thus endeavored to present a clear idea of the climate of 
that region in which France forms the rierves and sinews of her 
army, as bad, if not worse, than the majority of the weather which 
our ai-mies had to encounter, the reader may desu-e to know some- 
thing in regard to the French conquests and wars in Northern 
Africa. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 71 

111 May-July, 1830, General Bouemont landed a French army, 
and captured Algiers. By this conquest the French obtained a 
colony, fertile and accessible, which they had long coveted, and con- 
siderable plunder. It is questionable whether tliey have ever derived 
any other benefit from it than the formation of im army, which, as 
fiXY as it goes, shows it has no superior. Down to 1845, the con- 
quest was hardly more than nominal, although the campjiign in 
1840, in which Kearny participated, gave some very rude shocks 
to the native powers of resistence. In 1836 occurred the first 
expedition against Constantino which ended in disaster. 

Up to this time Abd-el-Kadek, although a powerful chief, had 
not become the suj)reme leader of the Arabs, although he had 
opposed the French with ability and intrepidity, especially in the 
west, for several years. There, in 1832, before Oran, he expe- 
rienced a Gettysburg defeat in a conflict which lasted three days, 
like our own great battle for national existence. In 1835 he 
seemed to have established a regular government, and even to have 
reconstructed the Arab nationality. Dmiug the succeeding years 
he gained great desultory successes over the French. These, on the 
3d May, 1837, concluded with him the Treaty of the Tafna, which, 
while it conceded great advantages to the Arab Chief, and afforded 
him the amplest opportunities to consolidate his power, left them 
free to turn then* arms against Constantino and restore then- mili- 
taiy credit by the capture of that place, 13th October, 1837. This 
was a happy stroke, both of arms and of policy, for the French, since 
their influence had suffered greatly by their failm-e under its walls. 

The subsequent campaigns of 1840 and 1841 may be said to have 
broken the confederated power which Abd-el-Kader had consoli- 
dated. Then the campaigns of 1842 and 1843 were directed against 
the individual tribes, and soon brought them to reason. 

When Damremont, the French Governor and Commander-in- 
Chief, was killed before Constantine, 12th October, 1837, at the 
moment when his plans for tlie' capture of the city were on the point 
of being crowned with success, the command devolved upon Valee 
by the unanimous voice of those highest in rank, as well as by right 
of seniority. He realized the truth of the dying words of the heroic 
Colonel Combes, who fell in the triumphant storming. Pierced with 
two balls, this oflicer of the old Roman type reported the success of. 
the movement, which he had du-ected and led, and closed the 
account with these words : " Happy," said he, to the Royal Duke of 



72 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Nemours, "happy are they who are not wounded to the death {i. e.y 
mortally) ; they will live to enjoy the triumph — i. e., reap the 
rewards." Then he withdrew to his tent, and the next day the 
army had to deplore his decease. Valke received the prize due 
to Damrbmont, just as too many in our late civil war assumed 
the laurels which ought to have been hung on the tombstones 
of the dead. 

For the capture of this African stronghold — the prize of so much 
blood and suffering — Valee was raised to the dignity of Marshal 
of France, and made Governor-General of Algiers. His power 
was despotic, and his disposition did not move him to use his 
authority with gentleness. W. von Raasloff, a distinguished 
representative of the Danish Artillery, afterwards Minister or 
Political Agent from Denmark to this country, hereinbefore 
quoted, who made the campaign in 1840 under him, and another 
under Bugeaud, would seem to represent him as one of the most 
severe and most unfeeling of men. If his character is not over- 
drawn by this writer, he might almost be styled pitiless. 

Yet it was, perhaps, well that Kearny saw his first real service 
under such a man, who, with all his faults, was a commander of 
very great ability, and the "creator of the French Artillery" of 
his day. It taught him the difference between the true and the 
sham, the "Man of Iron" from the want of appreciation of 
men, and the "Man of Iron" from the inexorable demand of 
the hour, the latter the man for the crisis of a nation. He 
could apprehend all that Avas great in Valee and lay it to heart 
as an example to be followed, and appreciate all that was 
unworthy of imitation. * * 

Abd-el-Kai)er, which signifies "Servant of the Almighty," 
and refers to his saintly extraction and religions education and 
claims, a true representative of Arab ability, was a politician 
of no mean capacity, and a General well adapted to develop 
and direct the warlike and fiinatic tribes Avhicli acknowledged 
his authority. His personal appearance was alone sufficient 
to inspire respect. The writer had ample opportunities of 
judging of this. He was introduced to him in 1851, had rooms 
adjacent to him in the same hotel in Marseilles, and saw him 
again in 1852 at Avignon. At this time he was about forty- 
seven years of age. No portrait begins to do justice to his 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. Y3 

beauty — if such a term can be applied to a man ; although it is 
just in his case, for very few women could surpass him in the 
delicacy and regularity of his features. Select the handsomest 
portrait ever exhibited of this Arab Chieftain, and it falls far 
short of the original in the prime of manhood, since no paint- 
ing could give any idea of the gentle expression of his eyes 
and countenance in repose, nor of its fire when aroused. 

The operations in the fall of 1839, and of the spring and sum- 
mer of 1840, were among the most glorious for the French arms 
in Africa. In October, the Duke of Orleans achieved a moral 
military triumph which will ever be coupled with his name — the 
passage of the "Iron Gates of the Atlas." This marvellous 
cleft threaded by the French column was justly considered im- 
practicable for an army, much more so for one carrying with it 
any kind of artillery or material. The natives were almost 
justified in believing that no armed opposition was necessary 
to render it unfortunate, since nature itself had done all that 
was requisite to make it dreadful and perilous, and a single 
shower could not only render the bold adventure impossible, 
but utterly destructive. The belief that the Roman Legion- 
aries — those universal and irresistible conquerors, who have left 
traces of their iron-handed occupation throughout Northern 
Africa, in whatever quarter the French have penetrated — had 
never achieved the passage of these "Iron Gates," must have 
been a great incentive to the Duke and to his troops. To accom- 
plish what the Romans had not, was indeed a superlative honor. 
At all events, the fact was Avell established, that if the Roman 
Eagles, at some unknown date, had gone through the "Iron 
Gates," no other military ensign had passed through except the 
Gallic Cock, eleven years afterwards, to be superseded by the 
Imperial Eagle. 

In the ensuing year the same young, gallant Prince achieved 
even greater fame by a purely military triumph at the Pass of 
the Mouzaia, since the Gates of Iron were not defended ; whereas 
the Col de Mouzaia, scarcely less strong by nature, was held by 
a strong force of Abd-el-Kader's best regular troops, likewise 
an army of irregulars, admirable sharpshooters, all inspired 
with the courage of fanaticism, w^hich, in such a natural fort- 
ress, could not have been overcome but by the discipline of 



74 BIOGEAPHY^ OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

picked veterans, winnowed out in many such an encounter, and 
led by the ablest officers, formed in encountering the ferocious 
and peculiar tactics of the Arabs. 

The th( litre of operations embraced in the campaigns of 
lS39-'40 constitutes an obtuse triangle, the apex at Algiers, 
Avith a base of about one hundred and seventy-live miles near 
the thirty-sixth parallel of latitude ; or else a trapezoid, with 
Algiers at the northwest corner; Bougia at another, the north- 
cast, at either extremity of the north parallel line ; Setitf at the 
third corner, southeast ; Milianah at the fourth corner, on the 
southwest; Medeah, about one-sixth of the distance, thirty 
miles, to the eastward of the last. The farthest points to the 
eastward, considered in detail in this work, are the "Iron 
Gates," at tlie extremity of a southeasterly course of about one 
hundred miles, running through Algiers. Fondoucd and Hamza, 
Medeah, and J^Iilianah, respectively, thirty-seven to forty miles 
(sixty kilometers) southwest, and seventy to eighty miles (one 
hundred and twenty kilometers) west southwest of Algiers, 
constituted the base of French military operations in this 
quarter for years. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THROUGn EL BIBAN ! ^ 

" II visita cnsuite TAlgeric ou il obtint d'occompagner le Due d'Oblbans, comme aide- 
de-camp houoraire, pendant la campagne des Fortes de Fer." 

DE Trobriand, 1, 290. 

" To traverse the Black Mountains from Neustadt to Freyburg, it is necessarj', for the 
space of two hours, to travel along a narrow valley between perpendicular rocks. Thia 
valley, or rather this crevice, at the cud of which runs a torrent, is only a few paces wide, 
and is named the 'Valley of Hell.' By this terrible defile the greater part of the French 
army (under Moreau, in 1796,) traversed the Black Forest, with an enemy (the Austrian 
army) ou its front, on its flanks, and in its rear. It was of this valley that Marshal Villabs, 
in 1700, wrote the following concise note to the Elector of Bavaria, who pressed Villars to 
cross the Black Forest aud join him : ' This Valley of Neustadt, which you propose to me' 
is the road which the people call the ' Valley of IIcU.' Well, if your Highness will pardon 
me the expression, I am not devil enough to pass through it." — Campagnes de Moreau ; 
CusVs "■Annals of the Wars" §43,1,5, 5G. Compare Murray's '■'■ Handbook for Southern 
Germany^'' 397. 

" behold black Acheron 1 

Once consecrated to the sepiilchre." 

— CmLDK Harold. 

" Come on, we'll quickly find a surer footing, 
And something like a pathway, which the torrent 
Hath wash'd since winter." —Manfred. 

In the summer and early fall of 1839, the despatches from the 
Generals in Algiers to the Home Government plainly demonstrated 
that hostilities, sooner or later, were inevitable. Abd-el Kader 
seemed to look forward to a renewal of the war as the only method 
of maintaining his authority over the Confederation of Tribes, 
which he had labored so long to bring about and consolidate. 
Marshal Valee, Governor-General of the French poss<. ^sions, was 
perfectly willing to accept the gage of defiance, and was even will- 
ing to provoke the Emir to throw it down that he might take it up. 

This state of affah-s soon became known in the army, and thus, at 
an early date, Kearny became apprised of what was going on in 
Africa, He at once applied to the French Government for pei'- 
mission to accompany an expedition into the interior, and make a 
campaign under generals who had akeady won a reputation where- 

75 



76 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ever a soldier's name was known and respected. His request was 
acceded to, and whether as an honorary aid on the staff of the Duke 
OF Orle.vns, or as a supernumerary officer attached to the finest 
light cavah-y regiment in the service, he had an opportunity to 
acquh'e, under the best conditions, a practical military knowledge, 
and learn the utmost which a soldier is called upon to endure. 
These gratifying appointments gave him a delightful position and 
protected him against the prejudices entertained by the aged com- 
mander-in-chief against foreign officers, whose presence in his camp 
was extremely distasteful to him. They annoyed and bored him. 
Such, at all events, was Kearxy's opinion. And armed with despotic 
power, and gifted with an unamiable disposition, it is not likely that 
he would have made the American volunteer's service particulai'ly 
agreeable to him, had the young transatlantic dragoon been forced 
to come in du-ect contact with him, or without the intermediation of 
powerful and willing protectors. 

In the fall of 1839 an exi^editionary corps was assembled in the 
province of Constantine, whose constituents were brought thither 
partly in transports, direct from France, and partly fi-om Algiers. 

The command-in-chief was assumed by Marshal Valee. Under 
him the Duke of Orleans had a fine division. To the staff of the 
latter Lieutenant Philip Kearny was attached as an honorary aid- 
de-camp.* The Marshal and Royal Duke privately resolved to 
undertake "svith this corps the somewhat adventurous march from 
Constantine, along the Akkaba precipices, through the Jujura 
{Djordjora) to Algiers — adventurous, indeed, for if Abd-el-Kader, 
or any of his dependents (which latter, at that time, the French had 
no longer any right to trust), with a mere handful of theu* people, 
had undertaken to bar tne way, at certain defensible points, the 
French column, totally destitute of any resom-ces except those 
which it carried with it, would have been j^laced in a most desperate 
position ; nay, more, if only a few days of rain had occm-red, the 
principal defile would have become totally impassable. When aU 
these risks are taken into consideration, this march seems like a 
bravado, since no real advantages could be obtained through it, 
while, on the contrary, as long as Abd-el-K4Der had not ratified 
the Convention of Tafna, which regulated the boundaries of the 
French and his own jm-isdiction, and had not publicly acknowledged 

* De Trobeiand's " Quatre ans cle Campagnes, etc,' 1, 290. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 77 

it, this march could only serve still more to excite the inimical feel- 
ings of the Arabs who adhered to the Emu*. This march has been 
represented by the French as an act of taking possession of the 
country ceded to them; but "such an interpretation of it can only 
excite a smile," for the reason that at times the French trooj)S advanced 
with such celerity that they appeared more like a body of fugitives 
than an army of conquerors, and because they scarcely left any more 
ti-aces of then- passage through the greater part of the country tra • 
versed than a ship of its course through the ocean. 

Until the French army had actually marched thi'ough the district, 
which they were about to attempt, the most wonderful representa- 
tations and the most fabulous descriptions of its defiles were received 
with most implicit faith in France. The following relation is com- 
piled from various authentic sources, but particularly from the jour- 
nal of an officer who participated in whatever glory accrued to the 
expedition, which, in many respects, was truly glorious, since almost 
eveiy human success is dependent upon 'fortune, and it required a 
concurrence of the most fortunate accidents, the favorable co-oi3era- 
tiou, not of men alone, but of nature also, not merely to make it 
successful, but to prevent it from being disastrous. 

This description will show what extreme difficulties the expedi- 
tion had to overcome, and how well it was adapted to exalt the 
impressionable minds of the French, so easily excited and affected 
by elevated and extraordinary ideas. 

The reno-wn of this exploit will be forever connected with the 
name of the Duke of Orleans, the pet of the nation, but especially 
of the Army of Africa, whose dangers and privations he had so 
often shared in 1835, 1839, 1840 — an army which not only looked 
up to him as an able and courageous leader, but confided in him 
as the true and acknowledged fri(?nd of the soldier. 

On the 24th October, 1839, the expedition was at Setif, seventy- 
nine miles west-south-west of Constantine, du-ectly south of the Gulf 
of Bougia. The troops believed that they were destined to open 
the communication between Setif and Bougia, through the most 
important Kabyle tribes, which dwelt in the mountains around the 
latter port ; an operation of the greatest consequence as regarded 
the affairs of the province of Constantine. The Kabyles, with 
whom the feint of negotiations was initiated, did not show them- 
selves so much opposed to laying out a road thi-ough their land as 
the French authorities had expected. 



78 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

On the 25tli October the column marched in a direction which 
still kept up the idea that the objective was Bougia. On the 26th, 
early in the morning, the course was changed, and after a march of 
two hours a joyful murmur suddenly arose throughout the column, 
for the soldiers of the advance guard had discovered that they were 
not on the road to Zamoiu'ah — a small town northwardly and west- 
wardly of Setif, occupied by Turks, which had submitted to the 
French — but were " going it loose " in a more southerly dh-ection 
towards El Bibau, that awful pass renowned for ages. In a moment 
the cries, "Algiers!" "ElBiban!" "Les Fortes de Fer !" "the 
Iron Gates !" were in every mouth. Without orders the soltliers 
quickened then' pace ; from front to rear the music of its favorite 
song resounded in each regiment. There was no moi'e fever in the 
column. The brave French felt no more sickness, no more fatigue; 
no one considered the countless difficulties which they had to 
encounter, or the weakness of the column, or tlie mountain brooks, 
which a single shower could swell into torrents, and thus render 
advance and retreat equally impossible. The wildest enthusiasm 
took possession of the tro.ops, m which the leaders perceived a sure 
token of a brilliant result. 

Now that the secret Avas out, the most important affair was to se- 
cm"e, by the rapidity of the march, those advantages which had al- 
ready been won thi'ough the astute and scrupulous silence of Mar- 
shal Vaxee, and make the most of them. In two days, 26th and 
27th October, the expedition had accomplished over sixty miles, and 
already on the evening of the latter day, the peaks of El Biban 
were visible. On the 28th, the divisions, commanded respectively 
by the Dcke op Orleans and General Galbois, separated, the 
former inclining to the left and south, while the latter wheeled off 
to the right into the plain of Medjanah, in order to secure the good 
will of the Turks of Zamourah for the French, and to finish the 
necessary preparations for establisliuig the great military camp at 
Setif, first occupied by the French, under the same General Galbois, 
in 1838. It had rained on the morning of the 28th, and the col- 
umn did not move again until this rain had ceased, since its contin- 
uance would have rendered the defile of El Biban impracticable. 
The column consisting of a single division, that of the Duke of 
Orleans, comprised 2,551 foot, of the 22d of the Line and of the 
famous 2d and 17th Light Infimtry, 248 cavalry detachments, from 
the 1st and 3d Chassem's d'Afrique — to the former of these K!ear- 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 79 

NT was attached — and Spahis ; and 250 men of the more scientific 
corps, engineer troops (Sappers and Miners), one company, and artil- 
lerists with four 12 pounder mountain-howitzers, on the pack-saddle 
system. Each soldier carried provisions for six days, and sixty car- 
tridges ; 800 head of cattle and sheep followed the division. The 
Administration (Field Commissariat) had the precaution to add a 
reserve supply of provisions for seven days more. Proud and ex- 
alted at the very idea that they were about to solve a military prob- 
lem which the Roman legions had never dared to undertake, the 
troops advanced with alacrity. 

After a difficult march — severe upon the troops on account of the 
obstructions encountered, rather than the distance traversed — in 
the bed of the Oued-Boukheteun, the mountain valley all at once 
began to contract, and grow more and more narrow ; gigantic, sav- 
age-looking masses of rock, heaped the one upon another, rose up 
before the troops and restricted the sphere of vision in the most 
peculiar manner. Next the column had to labor along a rough 
foot-path, up ascents almost perpendicular, succeeded by descents 
almost as precipitous. The spade and the pickaxe of the Sappers 
and Miners were continually called into action to render these 
practicable for the cavalry and pack-mules, especially those of the 
artillery. Each time that the column had attained the plateau 
which crowned the wild summit of one of these ridges, they hoped 
that the barrier was surmounted, but on arriving at the crest, the 
soldiers beheld new peaks present themselves like an immense sea 
of rocky waves, clothed with wild woods and crowned with cactus 
and aloes. 

At length they plunged into a deep defile, and all at once found 
themselves hemmed in on every side by gigantic walls of hmestone, 
which, a few moments before, they had not been able to discover, 
piled up in isolated and detached fragments, several hundi-ed feet 
in altitude, their outlines sharply drawn against the blue sky in 
strange and fantastic shapes. Farther away, towards the east and 
west, all these isolated peaks arrayed themselves into parallel 
ranges of gray or swarthy limestone, leaning, as it were, against 
abrupt gi-anite supports,* the latter shooting up perpendicularly to the 

* No one need be surprised at these limestone walls, being propped np by still more 
Btupendous walls of granite, since primary limestone, associated with granite, is of the 
same age and has the same origin. They are Phitonic. There is a remarkable instance 
of this in the Highlands, on the Hudson River, near Sing Sing, and at Cruger's Station. 



80 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

height, m some places, of 800 or 900 feet, in others, of more than 
1,000 feet, whose crest line, broken by long intervals, illuminated 
by the light of the snn, jDresented the aspect of an immense ram- 
part with colossal embrasm-es. These walls, which seemed to real- 
ize the fable of Atlas, and support the azure vault, were not more 
than from 40 to 100 feet apart, and had the effect of appearing to 
close in upon each other in order to frustrate any attempt to ad- 
vance. \ 

After a rough and almost scarjoed descent, the troops found them- 
selves in the wildest position it is possible to conceive, in a little 
patch of green, shaped like a pointed egg, or rather the orbit of a 
comet, cut off at the butt by angular rocks, most savage in then* 
aspect, while the whole contour was sm'rounded, except where the 
rifts afforded entrance and exit, by almost unappreciable walls of 
limestone, whose summits, at an immense height, overhung their 
bases, craning over as if to see what was passing beneatii them, 
and along the narrow track, which, again and again, crossed the 
thread of water known as the Oued-Boukheteun. This streamlet, 
after it leaves the mountains, receives the name of the Oued- 
Bibaii. A feeble brook in the dry ileason, after heavy rains it be- 
comes a wild torrent, which fills the whole defile. 

The ellipse of verdure, just described, constitutes a sort of vesti- 
bule or entrance-court to the "Gates," and can be compared to 
nothing but a narrow trap or deep kettle, in which an enemy could 
have overwhelmed the column with the gi-eatest ease, shooting 
down the troops from the surrounding cliffs, slaughtering them 
like poultry — "tame ducks" is the word in the journal generally 
followed, in a coop, without ■rtieu- being able to inflict the slightest 
iujmy in return. The exit is a split, not over eight feet broad, 
cleft vertically through the beetling Titanic cliffs — ^the loftiest, of 
reddish granite, the lowest of gray or dark-hued limestone, 

T/ils S2)llt was the FIRST IRON' GATE. 

After passing through this opening, the column had to string 
out along a narrow path formed by the disintegration of the marly 
portions of the rock, and clamber over huge blocks of chalk, 
almost filling the gigantic furrow between the parallel walls, which 
seemed to spring up to meet the sky. The Secoxd Iron Gate was 
soon reached, and, twenty paces farther on, the Third ; both of 
these, like the First, cleft as perpendicularly as if cut with a plumb- 
line, but so narrow that there was scarcely room for the passage of 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 81 

a loaded pack-mule. Fifty paces farther on, again, the Fourth Irox 
Gate was encountered, a little less narrow than the thi-ee previous 
cues. Three hundred paces farther on, the defile proper ceases, 
and opens into a beaiitiful and gracious valley. 

How many centuries must have elapsed before the waters of a 
little brook could have worn down this abyss,* whose wonders are 
not susceptible of a description which can afford, to any one who 
has not seen them, a just idea of the reality — an abyss which in all 
time has received the title of the Iron Gates of the Atlas, and 
Avhose passage has been regarded with awe ! The domination of 
the country would almost seem to appertam to the master of an 
army which dared to attempt, and succeeded in passing them, in tlie 
attitude of a conqueror. 

Through these Iron Gates the van-guard hurried on, the Marshal 
and DuivE of Orleans with then* staffs (including Kearny) 
leading, amid the triumphant clangor of military music and the 
jubilant shouts of the soldiery, which seemed to make the very 
rocks tremble. The only trace of this interesting expedition which 
remained behind upon its stage was the simple inscription, engraved 
by the sappers upon the natural walls of the pass : 

"Armee Francaise, 1839." 

About seven or eight hundi'ed feet beyond the fom'th Iron Gate, 
the defile enlarges, and opens into such a smiling and peaceful val- 
ley that nature seems to have placed it at this point for the express 
pm-pose of cheering up the soul rendered extremely melancholy by 
the gloomy depths of the pi-eceding gulf, so unearthly and so savage 
as must abate the courage of the manliest with an u-resistible sensar- 
tion of awe. 

That he accompanied the column wliich forced its passage 
thi'ough those famous Gates of Iron must have been a never-ending 
source of congratulation to Kearnt ; for while it was received in 

* "It appears to me that one of the best proofs of the youth of our globe, or of its 
population, at all events, is that its surface gold has not been exhausted. Gold is such ,".n 
essential to civilization that if the world were as old as some believe, it would have been 
exhausted long ago. These are the words of Brigadier-General J. W. P., one of the 
acatest of observers and a very scientific man. After visiting that strange passage on the 
route from Foit Leavenworth, through Fort Laramie, to the South Pass of the Kocky 
Mountains, known as the ' Devils's Gate,' he writes : ' It looks, at first view, as if that 
gentle, pellucid stream (the "Sweet Water") had worn a passage through the hard granite— 
* * but on a closer examination I was confirmed in a previous opinion, that the 
channels of rivers are formed for them oftener than they are by them." 



82 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

France as a glorious achievement of her armies, it had a most bene- 
ficial effect npon the tribes of Algiers, who looked upon the French 
as something more than human for having dared to attempt it. 

As soon as the soldiers — carrying in their hands leafy branches, 
torn from the scattei'ed palms, which counted theu- growth by cen_ 
turies, and grew here and there among; the rocks — issued forth into 
this lonely dell, they saluted with shouts of joy and welcome, that 
sun which they had completely lost sight of in the previous abyss, 
whose rays now almost bUnded them. Here they halted for a sj^ace 
to rest, and under the influence of recollections, fresh and vivid, of 
the awful scenery which they had traversed, these brave men soon 
forgot all their fatigues in communicating to each other impressions 
made upon them by the wonders they had witnessed. 

Militarily, to occxipy or bar the Biban Pass would be impossible, 
since it can be turned, but for the light infantry to do so, would 
have requu'ed some days, when every minute was precious. The 
Duke of Orleans did everything that the military art teaches to 
get possession as soon as possible of the farther end of the defile, and 
thus, in a meastire, to insure the safe passage of the column. For- 
tunately, all the measures which foresight indicated were superfluous. 
Not a single enemy showed himself The expedition was fiivored 
with the finest weather, and nothing surpassed the joyous sense of 
relief in which the army passed the first evening out of this Brob- 
dinagian trap. ^ 

The next day, the 29th October, the division which had bivouacked 
on the bank of the river Makalou, six miles north of El Biban, tra- 
versed an immense forest, and finally reached another beautiful val- 
ley, bordered by the chain of the Jurjura. Here Marshal Valee 
derived intelligence, from letters seized upon captured messengers of 
Abd-el Kader, that the Kalifa (Lieutenant) of the Emu* had estab- 
lished himself on the plateau of the Fort of Hamza, in order to bar 
the road to Algiers against the advancing division. 

To frustrate this movement, the division made a forced march on 
the 30th, thi'ough a country so destitute of drinkable water, and so 
abundant in salty, that the natives styled it the "Thu-sty Way." 

Meanwhile, the Duke of Orleans pushed ahead, with two or 
three companies of picked infantry, the whole of the cavalry, and 
two mountain howitzers, in the du-ection of Hamza. This fort 
occupies a position selected with judgment. Diu-ing the period of 
the Tm-kish domination it was a place of such importance that the 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 83 

Deys always maintained a strong garrison T^dtliin its walls. This 
was by no means due to any military perceptions of their engineers, 
for the Romans, nnsm*passed in their occupation of keypoints, built 
a fort there, named Auzea, coeval with their first invasion of the 
country, which was confided to a garrison of veterans. Tradition 
ascribes, however, the foundation of Hamza to a king of Tyre, who 
flourished nhae centuries before the Christian era. The last account 
belongs to fable rather than history; but the French were only fol- 
lowing the footsteps of the Romans, who won more than one signal 
victory xinder its ancient walls, which dominate a vast plain at the in- 
tersection of three valleys, the first leading towards Algiers, about 
fifty-five miles to the northwest; the second towards Bougia, from 
seventy to eighty miles to the northeast, and the third to the Gates of 
Iron (El Biban), from forty to fifty miles to the eastward. To the 
westward again, a road crosses through a depression, or " Col," of 
the Jm-jurah to Medeah, fifty-five miles to the west by south on an 
air line.* 

When the French column arrived on the heights of the Oued 
(Stream) Hamza, the hills on the opposite side were covered with 
mounted Ai-abs, who broke and fled without firing a shot as soon 
as they were charged by the French cavalry. This must be the ac- 
tion which serves as the basis for the anecdote of Count St. Marie, 
for it does not appear that the Arabs had any artillery with them 
in the other actions in the open field in which the Duke was pve- 
sent, nor is there any account of warlike opposition at any previous 
time during the advance of the expedition : " One day, at sum'ise, 
the rocks called ■ the Iron Gates in the Bibans were covered with 
Arabs, defending the passage of the defile. The Duke of Orleans, 
enveloped in a brown burnous, appeared on horseback at the head 
of the first attacking column. In the midst of a shower of grape- 
shot, ordering the charge to be sounded, he was the first to reach 
the guns of the Ai-abs, which he compelled them to abandon in 
disorder." 

The fort of Hamza was found deserted; 150 Arab regulars, 
thi'own into it as a garrison, had abandoned it. The fort, which 
had been a square, with bastions at the corners — the French ex- 

* It is extremely difficult to locate places on the maps, for the reason that the 
different accounts not only disagree with each other, but with any map, and the maps 
themselves, English and French, and French and semi-official French, are not only dis- 
cordant as to names, but as to locations. 



84 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

pression is a " starrj^-square," {carre etoils) — was little better than 
a mass of ruins. The revetments had either fallen or were in a 
miserable condition, so as scarcely to hold together or sustain them- 
selves. The interior constructions were notliing better than heaps 
of rubbish. Five cannon were found here, three of which were 
spiked. 

Having completed the destruction of this once important strong- 
hold, the French resumed theii* march, expecting to be attacked at ^ 
any moment by the tribes which acknowledged the authority of 
Abd-el-Kader, whose territories they had now entered. They did 
not meet with any resistance of the shghtest consequence until, on 
reaching a plateau along one of the affluents of the Issen, they 
found themselves m fiice of a body of cavalry and quite a numerous 
array of infantry. The Duke of Orleans, having placed some 
companies in ambush, tm-ned the Arabs with his cavalry, and di'ove 
them against the companies in reserve. These did not fire untU 
the Ai-abs almost ran against the muzzles of their muskets. Then 
the French pom-ed upon them such a slaughtering volley as put 
them to flight with quite a severe loss ; a few shells from the moun- 
tain howitzers cleaned them out entirely. Raasloff calls this a 
brilliant aflair, and adds, as if they constituted more formidable 
obstructions, that the column crossed a number of mountain 
streams, which in less favorable weather might have proved im- 
passable. Some of these traverse the Biban Pass itself. One is 
an affluent of the Adousse, which empties into the Gulf of Bougia. 
All are capable of being transformed by a single heavy shower into 
raging torrents. 

The same difficulties attended the march of the next day, 1st 
November, and it was late in the evening before the column, worn 
out by the terrible fatigues which they had undergone, reached the 
camp of Fondouck, where the division Rulhiere, sent out from 
Algiers to escort them in, awaited then* arrival. Thus ended an 
excursion — which deserves the title of a "military promenade" 
rather than any more serious term — of seven days, through a coun- 
try bristling with perils, inhabited by a population which had al- 
ways inspired the previous rulers of Algiers vnth. the greatest di-ead 
and caused them the hveliest disquietude for the stability of their 
power. The distance accomplished was not in itself so very gi-eat, 
ranging from 150 to 200 miles, but the natm-al difficulties overcome 
made it more trying and laborious than an ordinary march of 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 85 

double the distance. The news of the successful arriva,! of the 
column in Algiers occasioned, not only in the colony but through- 
out France, the liveliest joy and enthusiasm, which, to compre- 
hend, a man must appreciate the dangers Avhich actually impended 
over it, verily, like the sword of Democles. 

The route followed by this comparatively " little band " led 
tlirough wai'like and inimical tribes, from whom no assistance, 
in the shape of the necessaries of life, could be expected ; but 
on the contrary, open hostilities at any moment. The whole of 
the country traversed was in the highest degree difficult, and the 
laiforeseen occupation of the "Iron Gates," or even a few heavy 
showers, might have proved the ruin of the division. The 
countrj^ itself, and its resources, were only known by report 
through the accounts of the Arab guides, who were little to be 
depended on. Such critical circumstances constitute the great- 
est charm, however, of war, and elevate the soldier, not only in 
his own eyes, but in those of his comrades and countrymen. 

When the column arrived at Algiers, the enthusiasm was 
indescribable. The Duke of Orleans gave a grand banquet 
to the whole division in the square of Bab Azum. Thus, in the 
beginning of November, 1837, joy reigned in Algiers, and the 
future was forgotten — while the storm-clouds were gathering 
over the Colony, which burst with a suddenness and fury as 
terrible as unexpected. No one surmised that this apparent 
triumph was the forerunner of the greatest disaster. It is im- 
j>ossibie, in such a work as this, to go further into anything like 
a historic consideration of the causes which led to the ensuing 
campaign, in which Kearny was conspicuous, and made the 
American name glorious through his fortitude and his valor. 
Abd-el-Kader — who knew that every action which tended to 
elevate the French in the opinion of the natives depreciated 
his own influence in an equal degree — had been waiting for a 
pretext, and Avas glad that an excuse was now given him for 
the resumption of hostilities, by this expedition through the 
" Gates of Iron." He held his forces all ready in the leash, 
and now he let them loose in all the fury of fire and sword upon 
that beautiful plain of the Metidjah, which embraces Algiers in 
its arc of luxuriant fertility, whose either extremity bathes its 



86 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

verdure in the sea. No declaration of war preceded the inburst 
of devastation. Up to the very gates of Algiers swept the 
Arabian cavalry in the prosecution of what they deemed a " Holy 
War." The Emir's fury fell, not only upon the scattered gar- 
risons beyond the reach of succor; upon the colonists who saw 
the fruits of years of patient toil disappear in a moment in 
flame ; but also upon the native tribes who had submitted to 
the French and had refused to arm against them. Years after- 
Avards, the sad mementoes of this erruption were still visible in 
the Metidjah, and the colonists had not yet recovered their con- 
fidence in the protection of the French government, for the po- 
litical horizon could scai'cely have seemed more serene, on the 
evening of the 30th November, 1839, and yet with the dawn of . 
the next day the hordes of Abd-el-Kader poured down from the 
Lesser Atlas, and, except within the lines of Algiers, left nothing 
behind them but corpses, ruins and ashes. All who survived 
were dragged into captivity. It is said that Marshal Valee 
was not disappointed at this turn in events ; and if those who 
treat of the French Dominion in Algiers are correct in their 
judgment of his character, it was very likely that he was 
pleased at the opportunity of adding to his military renown by 
a successful campaign at the close of his life. The idea expressed 
by Raasloff, the Danish eye-witness, is equivalent to this : 
" The Emir precipitated the hostilities which Marshal Valee: 
had invited." Raasloff's exact words are: "Valek and 
Abd-el-Kader wished to bring on the war."* 

* This chapter is the only one in the whole book which is not founded on original docn- 
ments, or well-known works. There is only one definite authority for it, quoted at the 
head of the Chapter, which is to be found at Page 290, Vol. 1 : " Qiiatre Aus de Octmpagnes 
a VArmec du Potomac, par Regis de Tkobkiand, Ex-Major-General au Service Volontaire, 
et Colonel au Service Regulaire des Etats Unis d'Amerique," Paris, lalS; which seemecj 
sufficiently corroborated by rumor, intimations and references in letters. The subject- 
matter of the residue of this biography is either founded on personal knowledge, publica- 
tions, or information derived from actors in tlie events treated of. In almost eveiT case, 
where practicable, the language of the original has been incorporated. Whether or no 
Keabny accompanied the Duke of Orleans to Africa in the Fall of ISJiO, this chapter is 
nevertheless valuable, inasmuch as it serves as an introduction to the subsequent cam- 
paign, and more particularly as it presents an accurate accoimt of one of the most brilliant 
expeditions of the French Army in Algiers. Although scarcely attended with any blood- 
shed, it is a notable example of what may be accomplished by audacious energ>' in an art 
or science in which success depends on what the Romans verified two thousand years ago, 
and Marshal Saxe formulized as a rule or principle of war, that victory depends nioro 
upon tlie legs than upon the arms of the soldiers. This all great Captains demonstrated to 
be the fact since we have any reliable accounts of military progress. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

over the mouzaia to medea ii and milianah. 
"the ateican battle above the clouds." 

"Major-General p. Kearnt, * * * at the age of twenty-two, accepted the 
commission of Second Lieutenant First Dragoons, and soon after was sent to Europe by 
the government, to study and report upon the French cavalry tactics. 

'•To accomplish this object he entered the military school at Saumur, France, and 
from thence went to Africa, where he joined the First Chasseurs d'Afrique, as a volun- 
teer. By his daring exploits he attracted the attention of the French army, and was pre- 
sented with the Cross of the Legion of Honor." — " Military and Naval History of the 
Echellion in the United States /" by W. J. Tennet." 

"A trois heures du matin le canon douna le signal. "■ AHons, enfants,^ s'ecrie le Due 
d'Okleans, ' fcs Arabes nous attendent et la France nous regardeP Et les troupes 

gravissant les rochers s'eippareut du premier plateau ou elles font une halte. Eusuitc 

commence rescalade du pitou. La resistance fut terrible, la premiere colonne seule 
etait engagce, uu nuage epais diirobait a la rue les combattauts. Bieuttit une fanfare 
annonga la prise d'undesmamelosn. A cc momeus le soleil, se dcgagcant de sou voile de 
tentbres, cclaire les flancs de la montagns, et Ton peut admirer d'une part les efforts 
presque surhumaiues de nos soldats, qui ne se laisscnt arreter par aucuue craintc ; d'autre 
part, le calme et le sang-froid des Arabes, qui penches sur 1' abime Tcnil attcntif, le doigt 
sur la detente du fusil, attendent, immobiles, le moment de viser juste et bien. Le 3d 
Leger, encourage par la vols si puissautc du general Changauniee, redouble d' ardeur, 
et le drapeau f rangais est arbore sur la crete la plus elevee."— La Comtesse Dboeojowska's 
^* Histoire de VAlgerie." 

-^i-ThcT?ederals fought not less firmly [at "Williamsburg], encouraged by their chiefs, 
Hooker, Heintzelsian, and Kearnt. KETrny in. especial, who lost an arm in Mexico, 
and fought with the French at the Moiczaia, and at Solferino, had displayed the finest 
courage.'''—"' The Army of the Potomac^' by the Prince db Joinvillb. 

CAMPAIGN OP 1839 AND CAMPAIGN OP 1840. 

In December, 1839, Valee, having received strong reinforce- 
ments from France, gladly accepted the defiance of Abd-el Kadeiu 
and recommenced hostilities. He divided his troops into different 
columns, and launched these forth against the enemy in every 
du-ection. Everywhere the French resumed the offensive gloriously. 

As the Fu'st Chasseurs dAfrique played a distinguished part in 
several of the first engagements which followed, it is but fair to 
suppose that, as Philip Keakxy was attached to 'this regiment, the 
young American volunteer, with the daring and dash Avhich was 
always conceded as peculiarly his own, had a share in its dangers 
and honors. 



88 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

It was a fortunate thing for Philip Kearny that, although he had 
an honorary position on the staff of the Duke of Orleaxs, for 
actual service, his place was with the Fu-st Chasseurs d'Afrique ; and 
still more fortunate that their commander was Colonel le Pays de 
BouRJOLLY — afterwards Lieutenant-General and Senator of France. 
This chivalrous officer, directly the reverse of his superior in dispo- 
sition, was a perfect gentleman. He was a gi-and specimen of the 
French colonel of romance. Through his family, position, and per- 
sonal character, he stood equally high. Intimate associations with 
him, demonstrated at once what a French gentleman should be to 
fill the character ascribed to the grand and true nobility of the " old 
school," and also what a gentleman actually was. To his inferiors in 
rank he was as kind, generous, and forbearing as he was inde- 
pendent, fierce, and resolute towards his superiors, maintaining his 
own rights and those of his subordinates against the presumption of 
higher rank with a dignified determination which would not yield 
an inch to the encroachments of authority. Kearny always spoko 
in the highest terms of Colonel le Pays de Bourjolly, and the 
latter — to whom the -writer carried a letter of introduction, in 1851, 
irom his cousin — remembered his volunteer companion-in-amas as 
a valued friend, testifying the warmest feelings towards him, and an 
affectionate pride in the fame and success of his subsequent career. 
The wi'iter has heard him translate to his aid and company the his- 
torical eulogies of his former pupil. 

It was of inestimable advantage to Kearny to be attached to the 
Fiist Chassem-s d'Afrique, which " had always been a favorite regi- 
ment, brave and triumphant in the field ;" " indefiitigable, enter- 
prising — a model light cavalry." The Duke op Nemouiis, second 
son of Louis Philippe, generally wore its uniform ; the Duke of 
AuJiALE, a still younger son, shnred all its dangers. This shews 
how highly this corps was esteemed. St. Marie, a reliable author- 
ity, testifies that " the Colonels who have had the command of the 
Fii-st Chasseurs have always been men of family, fortmie, and 
education. The consequence is, that the officers are received into 
the best society, wherever they go." This proves that Colonel le 
Pays de Bourjolly could not have held the position he occupied 
had he not been the " elegant gentleman" and thorough soldier he 
was. 

The first collision of a year — which numbered twenty successful 
engagements — took place in the early part of December between 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 89 

the camp of the Arba and the coiu'se of the AiTouch (Harrach), 
about eighteen miles southeast of Algiers, where a force of 1,200 
Hadjouts — audacious robbers, practicing the tactics of the ancient 
Numidians — were encountered by a column, consisting of detach- 
ments of the Fifty-second Line Infantry and of the 1st Chasseurs, 
charged, completely beaten, and scattered. 

About the same time, towards the end of December, 1839, the 
regular batallions of the Emir made an attack upon a convoy 
between Boufarick — a fortified camp and small village on the 
Harrach, in the middle of the plain of the Metidjah — andBlidah, at 
the foot of the Little Atlas, twenty-nine miles south by west of 
Algiers, on the dh-ect road to Medeah. These Arabs were like- 
wise charged home by the French and driven into a ravine, where 
they experienced a considerable loss. Let no one undervalue these 
sons of Northern Africa — descendants of the ancients Yandals, 
who, in A.D. 697 di-ove the Romans out of Africa — of whom it has 
been said "the very men partake of the nature of the lion." 

A few days afterwai'ds, on the last day of the year 1839, the 
united forces of the Kalifas, of Medeah, and of Milianah, Lieu- 
tenants of the " Modern Jugurtha," — as Abd-el-Kader has been 
appropriately styled — suffered a complete rout. This was the first 
time that the Emir's newly-created regular infantry had an oppor- 
tunity to measm-e themselves with the French invaders in the open 
field. They occupied a position chosen with no small degree of 
military capacity, between Blidah and the Chiffa. The ravine of 
the Oued (river, bed of a river, or defile) El-Kebu" was occupied by 
Abd-el-Kader's regular infantry, supported by from four thousand 
to five thousand cavalry. The ground was very favorable for 
defence, and the Arabs were well posted. The inequalities of 
the gi'ound served as intrenchments for the Kabyles, who are excel- 
lent marksmen, and do terrible execution with then- long guns or 
rifles, which will carry almost as far as European wall-pieces. 
Their position enabled them to deliver a plunging fire upon the 
French, whose counter volleys proved almost ineffectual. Marshal 
V.u:ee, who commanded the French column in person, soon became 
satisfied that the only way to decide the affau* was at once to resort 
to cold steel. He accordingly launched the Twenty-thu'd Line 
Infantry, and Second Light Infantry — a famous regiment, com- 
manded by the no less famous Ch^vngarnier, sm'named by his 
troops the " Iron Head" — also the First Chassem-s d'Afrique, against 



90 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the enemy. The ravine itself, which covered their front like a vast 
dry ditch, and the steep acclivity beyond, was overcome with im- 
petuosity, and the assailants soon found themselves face to face 
with the Emir's regulars, who had contracted their line to meet 
the French fah-ly and squarely. Fortunately for the latter, the 
Arabs, like the Wahabees, dread the " long nail " at the end of a 
musket ; and the French charge, with that Aveapon, which tests the 
solidity of aline, overthrew that infantry which Abd-el-Kader had 
taken so much pains to organize, and hurled it back upon the cav- 
alry, to whom it communicated the disorder. In a few minutes 
there was no more resistance ; every Ai'ab was seeking safety in 
flight. The enthusiastic intrepidity of the French horse and foot 
rendei'ed any further attempt to make a stand unavailing. The field 
of battle was covered with the corpses of the Arab inflmtry and 
cavalry^ over four hundred dead were counted. Three flags, or 
military ensigns, five hundi'ed muskets, and a piece of artilleiy, were 
the trophies of the day. Colonel le Pays de Bourjolly led the 
charge which captm-ed this gun, a present from the French Govern- 
ment to Abd-el-Kader on the conclusion of the last truce. With 
a short-sightedness about equal to that of our Washington authori- 
ties in regard to the Indians, as a rule, and towards the South in 
1860-61, the Home Government at Paris, although they knew 
that the Emu- would not long keep quiet, made him a present of a 
section of field-artillery. As Bourjolly said with an ironical smile : 
" They gave him guns to shoot down then- own troops with." 

R.AASLOFF calls this again a " brilliant afl'au'," and Al ison says : 
" This success, though not on a great scale, was very important as 
restoring the spirits of the troops, and giving the turn to a long 
train of disasters." Castellane calls Oued-el-Aleg " the tomb of one 
of the regular batallions of the Emu-." 

Colonel Le Pays de Bourjolly was veiy proud of his share in 
a conflict which was better known in France as the affair of Oued- 
el-Aleg. In this officer's cheerful study or reception-room, orna- 
mented with trophies of his Algerian campaigns, glistening in the 
sunlight which floods the apartment through the broad expanse of 
windows opening to the sunny east, in Paris — where the wi'iter met 
several officers who had served m Africa with Kearny, and had many 
pleasant things to say of him — hung, in 1851, a grand painting of 
the capture of Abd-ej^Kader's cannon. In this, Bourjolly, in 
the uniform of his regiment and splendidly mounted, leads the 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 91 

charge, spurring his white barb to cut down the artillery men at 
the gun. CriANGARNiER, who led the infantry, claimed a lion's 
share of the honor of the day, and a duel was considered imminent ; 
but Valee — flattei'ed in Bourjolly's report as having accompanied 
the cavalry — conceded the glory to the First Chasseurs d'Afrique. 
In the painting, however, the infantry are seen in the back ground 
with Marshal Valee at their head, following up the success in 
another quarter. 

From the admirable sketch of the life of Kearny, by a distin- 
guished New Jerseyman, it would appear as if one Colonel Guie, 
and not le Pays de Bourjolly, commanded the First Chasseurs 
d'Afrique while Kearny was attached to them. This is an error. 
Bourjolly continued Colonel of the Fii*st Chassem-s d'Afrique 
until 21st June, 1840, when he was made Marechal-de-Camp — 
synonymous with General of Brigade. By that time all'^he hard 
fighting was over, as the second engagement at the Col de Mouzaia 
was on 15th June, 1840, when the army was retracing its steps. 

If Bourjolly had not been in command, and actually with his 
regiment, at this time, he never could have made such a display in 
a pictui-e, since an hundred witnesses would have started up to 
disprove his claim to the honor. 

In November, 1851, the writer was standing on the ramparts of 
the Emperor's Fort — built by Charles V. — ^which dominates the 
city of Algiers, and commands a partial view of the rich plain 
which spreads itself, clothed in all the luxuriance of tropical vege- 
tation, from the shores of the deep blue Mediterranean to the dark 
blue ranges of the Atlas ; while standing there and looking down 
upon the plain of the Metidjah, most interesting to the native of a 
Northern clime in its palms and natural features peculiar to this 
land of story, a stranger approached him and prefacing his words 
with a military salute, remarked: "Monsieur," pointing to the 
south, " has been there." "No; this is my first visit to Africa.'' 
" Are you not an American ? Did you not serve in the Chasseurs 
d'Afrique?" "No; I only amved in Algiers yesterday." "This is 
strange ; I thought you were an American officer who served with 
that regiment, to which I belonged." This mistake of identity 
led to an explanation, and the soldier then went on to express his 
admiration for Kearny for his dash and his daring. "He was a 
very brave man," said he ; "I have often seen him charging the 
Arabs with his sword in one hand, his pistol in the other, and hia 



92 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

reins in his teeth." Such testimony from an old African trooper 
tells the whole story, and it was corroborated by others. Several 
officers who had served with him, Avho w ere encountered on the 
passage between Algiers and Marseilles, were loud in his praise. 
One, who was a Marechal-de-Logis (Quartermaster's Sergeant of 
Cavalry) in one of the companies of the Fu'st Chasseiu's dAfrique, 
which made the campaigns of 1839-40 (in 1851 a Lieutenant in the 
same regiment) spoke of him in about the same terms as the old 
soldier who thought that he recognized Kearny on the summit of 
the Chateau de I'Empereur. It would require too much S2>ace to 
follow Kearny through all the details of his Algerian experiences, 
it will be sufficient to note the most remarkable. The best proof 
that he profited by all that he saw is the development of ability 
disclosed in the last year of his life, when he had attained a posi- 
tion to show how great he really was, and how much gi'eater he 
might have become had he survived. 

In Algiers he learned the enormous capabilities of a well-trained 
infantry. He never could speak in terms of sufficient commenda- 
tion of the French Light Infantry. He said that theu" conduct 
was something magnificent, their coolness combined with enthusi- 
asm ; their orderly disorder ; accommodating discipline to the 
terribly broken and difficult ground on which they had to operate ; 
then* individual intelligence and combined action. He was justi- 
fied in his eulogies, for no country ever possessed a more perfect light 
infantry than that which so often scaled the Atlas and cleared the 
way for the columns and trains. Fine as the cavaliy was with 
which he served, noble its deeds, and wonderful its endm-ance, it 
was ever the light infantry for which he reserved his enthusiasm. 
This was just, for if ever there was a difficult country to g\ain 
ground in against an intrepid foe — which only needed scientific 
ti-aining and good weapons to secure theii' independence — that 
country was the Atlas. 

To restrain the natives the French were obliged to maintain an 
ai'my of 100,000 men. Pdlszky, who bases his statements on 
authentic documents, sets down this number, and adds that the 
colony costs France $20,000,000 a yeai'. The biogi-apher of Mar- 
shal Valee admits that he had an army of 57,000 strong, excellent 
troops, no one can deny. He had girdled that portion of the plain 
of the Metidjah, which had been colonized and brought under cul- 
tivation, with a chain of camps, forts and block-houses ; and yet in 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 93 

November-December, 1839, "all the Province of Algiers was in 
volved in a general blaze." In 1840 the natives were driven back 
apparently across the Lesser Atlas, defeated and disorganized. 
Notwithstanding, in May, 1841, they were back again in the Metid - 
jah, and slaughtered a whole company — 49 men lost their heads, 
and one hid in the bushes, severely wounded — the garrison of a 
block-house, not more than nine miles from Algiers, nor three from 
Delhi-Ibrahim, a considerable military post, not more than three 
or four miles W. by S. of that city. Well might Lamping exclaim : 
" So you may judge tolerably well of what is meant by the French 
territory." A people who could defend their independence with 
such indomitable pertinacity were antagonists worthy of any 
troops in the world. Where would the South be now if they had 
evinced a like unconquerable spirit under disadvantages as dispro- 
portioned and odds as overwhelming. 

The combats already described, as well as minor collisions, 
taught the Emu- that it would not do to risk the troops, which had 
cost him so much labor to organize, in any more pitched battles. 
Many times his banner was descried in the plain floating over his 
scarlet batallions and squadrons in the distance, but on all occasions 
the combat which the French sought diligently was refused by 
their leader. 

On 25th April, 1840, Marshal Valee determined to carry the 
war into the interior, and on the 27th marched from Blidah upon 
Medeah. Between these two places rose the mountain of the Mou- 
zaia, 5,117 feet high. To afford some idea of the difiiculties which 
the invader had to encounter, the new military road from Blidah to 
Medeah, laid out in the most scientific mannei", crosses the Chiffa no 
less than sixty-two times. Nevertheless, this road, a marvel of engi- 
neering, becomes impassable at times in winter, and its mainten- 
ance requires constant repairs. Like the Khyber Pass, in Af- 
ghanistan, it might be the grave of an invading army in the hands 
of an enemy which knew hoAV to combine their efforts and avail 
themselves of the natm-al difficulties. The road by which Valee 
advanced was doubtless that followed by the Roman legions. 
It is longer and even more difficult than the new one con- 
structed by the French. • It crosses the Col de Tenyah, or rather 
Col de Mouzaia, for Tenyah simply signifies "Peak of the Moun- 
tain." The defile Tenyah begins about nine miles west of the 
Haouch (farm) of Mouzaia, which again is about fifteen miles from 



94 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Blidah, and twenty-five from Algiers. It requires a peaceable 
march of two hoiu-s to reach the neck or cleft of the mountain 
through which the road crosses. Lampikg, who climbed it more 
than once in the course of the various campaigns in which he was 
engaged, says that from the foot of the Col de Mouzaia up to its 
highest point, is full seven hours' march when no resistance is en- 
countered. In May, 1840, that ascent which required seven hours 
in-.peaceful times, was to be made under a constant fire of sharp- 
shooters, each of whom selected his man. On both sides, the defile 
is partially cultivated, but the greater portion of the narrow path, 
traversed by many rivulets, leads through a rough thicket, some- 
times interrupted by bold lime cliffs. Towards the crest of the 
range it becomes continually naiTOwer ; the cliffs from both sides ap- 
proaching each other so closely that scarcely four men can march 
abreast ; finally two conical rocks form a kind of natural gate. Be- 
sides all this, the road clings in many places to the sides of a j^re- 
cipitous mountain. * In the depths below, to the right, so far down 
that its murmur can scarcely be heard in the dry season, in summer 
trickles a thread of water, in winter roars an irresistible ton-ent; 
while to the left hand soar the rocky cliffs. In the distance — as 
seen through the pass — soars the snow-capped peak of Nador, be- 
neath which nestles the objective of Marshal Vaj>ee, Medeah, em- 
bosomed in the luxuriant gToves of fruit-trees, the fragrance of 
whose flowers, in their season, are said to be sickening to those who 
seek their cool shelter to sleep over night. Raasloff, the distin- 
guished Danish officer who, like Keaknt, served as a volunteer 
under Valee, in his interesting work, published at "Altona" in 
•1845, furnishes a view of this defile at the instant when the French 
troops were forcing it, in October, 1840, climbing the serpentine 
track which clings, mid-air, to the precipice, with the Kabyles, con- 
spicuous in then- white "bournous" or cloaks, firing upon them 
from every covert afforded by the overhanging or projecting 
rocks. At first sight a soldier would agree with Pulszkt that fifty 
resolute men might, here, detain an army for several days. Facts, 
however, have demonstrated the truth of Marshal Bugeatid's ad- 
dress to his officers at Orleansville that " an army which knows how 
to obey, an army which knows how to suffer, is the hope and strength 
of the country ; the time will never come when it will be found 
wantino- to France." Accordingly, in 1830, Marechal-de-Camp 
(Brigadier-General) Achakd, with a single batallion of the 37th 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 95 

Infantiy of the Line, carried the Pass of tlie Mouzaia, although it 
was defended by 2,000 Turks, Kabyles, and Arabs. The foremost 
of the French rushed with j&xed bayonets into what seemed tlio 
very jaws of deatli; but, says Lamping, the Arab or Bedouin, the 
Ivabyle, who is great and admirable at the hour of death, who 
never begs his life or utters an unmanly complaint, has " a holy hor- 
ror of the bayonet." Achaed's Infantry burst through the African 
ranks with a heroism Avhich had its parallel in that of the four 
Hungarian batallions, which under General Guyon, carried the 
Branyiszko Pass, 5th February, 1849. 

Keaiiny was now to witness and have a share in an exploit simi- 
lar to that of Guyon's, which was almost dramatic in its effects, if 
death had not made it sublime. The Prince de Joinville, in his 
" Army of the Potomac," refers to Kearny's participatiou in this 
severe fight on the Mouzaia, which he couples with Solferino, as if 
to have heen there was indeed something to speak of. 

From the 1st May, starting from the "Tomb of the Christian" — 
a ruined monument, so styled, in reality an ancient burial-place of 
the Mauritanian kings, — till the 12th of the same month, when the 
army reached the foot of the northern range, proper, of the Atlas, 
every mile of the advance had been won by a combat. The 
march was one continual skirmish. The column might almost 
have been said to have cleaved its way onward as a ship ploughs 
through a head ^ea, only tlie waves were not impassive adversaries, 
but surges of u-regular cavalry, which made incessant and harrassing 
attacks on the French flanks, front, and rear, and returned shot for 
shot, and cut of yataghan for slash of sabre. In repelling these 
assaults, the First Chasseurs, to which Kearny was attached, were 
invariably successful, executing a number of brilliant charges. In 
one of these, the Duke of Aumale, the youngest son of the king, 
made a dash with a single company of this regiment and achieved 
a brilliant success, by the rapidity and hardihood of his manceuvre. 

The manner in which the Arab horse are accustomed to fight 
accounts for the old soldier's description of Kearny's conduct on 
such occasions, " charging with his sabre in one hand, his pistol in 
the other, and his reins in his teeth." The Bedouin, or Ai-ab horse? 
hover round a column all day with wild yells of "Lu-Lu," gallop- 
ing up without order, within 80 or 100 yards of the French sharp- 
shooters, " and discharging their rifles, at full speed. The horse 
then tm-ns off of his own accord, and the rider loads his piece as 



96 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

he retreats ; and this is repeated again and again all the day 
long." 

" The Bedouins never wait for a close encounter hand to hand 
when charged by our cavalry ; they disperse in all directions, but 
instantly return. The only diiFerence between them and the Nu- 
midians, of whom Satxust says, ' They fight flying, and retreat, 
only to return more numerous than before,' is, that the Numidians 
of old fought with bows, and the Bedouins with rifles." 

" This kind of fighting is equally dangerous and fatiguing to us. 
It is no joke to be firing in all directions, from sunrise to sunset, 
and to march at the same time, for we seldom halt to fight at our 
ease. The general only orders a halt when the rear-guard is so 
fiercely attacked as to require reinforcements. Any soldier of the 
rear-guard who is wounded or fatigued has the pleasant prospect of 
falling into the hands of the Bedouins, and having his head cut off 
by them. One comfort is, that this operation is speedily performed ; 
two or tlu'ee strokes of the yataghan are a lasting cure for all pains 
and sorrows." 

Abd-ei. Kader had neglected nothing which could render the 
defence of the Col de Mouzaia successful. To the natural bulwarks 
of this formidable pass, he had added abattis, entrenchments armed 
with batteries, and a strong redoubt, on the very culminatmg point 
or principal peak. To man these works he had drawn together 
large numbers of troops, and especially all the sub-clans of the gi'eat 
and valiant tribe of the IMouzaia. These last had always shown 
themselves the most intrepid of the .Arab infimtry whenever the 
French had forced the passage of the Col. The very geogi'aphical 
position of this tribe of the Kabyles had won for it the highest 
consideration from the Turks, while they governed Algiers. It 
depended dh-ectly on the Agaa of the Capital ; it had received 
large concessions of fine land in the plain ; it was exempted from 
tribute of all kinds ; and was charged with a sort of supervision 
over the other mountain tribes. 

On the 12th May, at 3 o'clock in the morning, the Duke of Or- 
leans, pointing to the crest of the Mouzaia — seven hours' march 
from the foot of the mountain — and the entrenchments which crowned 
it, crowded with defenders, whose white garments glistened like 
silver in the rising sun^ — addressed these words to the French 
sokUers, impatient to begin ; " My boys, the Arabs are expecting 
us, and France is looking on." Then he gave the signal for the 
attack. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 97 

In an instant the scarped flank of the rocky heights was covered 
with French soldiers, leaping, climbing, mounting almost at a 
run. The di*ums beat, the clarions sounded the charge; the officers 
animated the men with then.' voices and by their examples. The 
first column gained the lowest plateau without much difficulty. 
Thei-e they found themselves before three lofty swells, or rounded 
elevations, disposed in echelon, each crowned with a formidable 
redoubt. At this point the resistance was terribly resolute. From 
the ramparts of these natm-al forts, strengthened artificially, the 
Ai-abs ctelivered a plunging and murderous fire upon the assailants. 
Between these, three masses of rock thrust themselves forth at 
intermediate points, which afforded covers to the enemy, 
ai-med with "long rifles, which carry almost as far as wall pieces." 
Thus sheltered, the Ai-abs kept up a continual and lively du-ect and 
cross-fire upon the French, who, to overcome the ascent of the 
abrupt rocky steep, were obliged to cling to every projecting rock, 
to every bush, and consequently were unable to reply. Soon a 
thick smoke enveloped the mountain like a cloud, and nothing 
more was visible to the rest of the army below. This state of 
affairs lasted several hours. During this time nothing was heard 
but an almost continual roll of musketry, to which the artilleiy 
added then- reports like single and severe claps in a' thunder storm, 
and ever and anon, as the fire slackened, the progress of the 
attack could be distinctly measured, by the responses of the 
drums and bugles of the Second Light Infantry, higher and 
higher, amid the cloud which enveloped the mountain. At length, 
about mid-day, a peculiar flourish of clarions or bugles announced 
a decided success. The Second Light Infantry had carried the 
second and commanding peak. 

Then the two other columns moved in turn, and began to ascend 
the heights under the fire of the enemy. The column Lamoriciere 
having made itself master of a wooded ridge which extended to . 
the right of the peak, the Arabs, who were dislodged by this success, 
came together again in his rear, and posted themselves in a ravine. 
By this disposition they were enabled to stop the march of the 
column d'Houdetot, mth which the Duke of Orleans advanced. 
At once the young general ordered the soldiers to unsling theii' 
knapsacks and make a bayonet charge. To this the Arabs opposed 
such a vigorous resistance that all the troops in succession became 
engaged. The very staff was obliged to cut in and defend them- 



98 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

selves. General ScHRAjni, Chief of the Duke's staff, fell wounded 
at the side of the Duke of Orleans, and other officers were hit. 
Fortunately a battalion of the Twenty-third succeeded, in a mea- 
8ui"e, in turning the ravine. They rushed with the bayonet upon 
the Ai'abs, who, taken in flank by this luiexpected attack, disbanded 
and fled. 

Meanwhile, the first column Duviviers had arrived at the foot of 
the main redoubt. There they were received with such terrific 
discharges of musketry that even these veterans recoiled. It was 
now three o'clock in the afternoon. ' For twelve hours the» brave 
men had not ceased to march, to climb, and to fight. On all sides 
the men were falling, overcome with heat, fatigue, and thirst. A 
last eflbrt remained to be made, the most important of all, and the 
least indecision would have compromised the success of a day so 
heroically begun. General Changaenier comprehended this critical 
moment, and turning towards the Second Light Infantry, he placed 
his sword under his arm as coolly as if on the exercise ground, and 
gave the order, "Forward." At the sound of his voice, so reas- 
sm-ing in its calmness, the diaims beat and bugles sounded the 
charge, the ranks reformed, the soldiers rushed xapon the redoubt, 
some succeeded in making a lodgment within the entrenchments. 
The Ai-abs, thus vigorously assailed, defended themselves no less 
resolutely, but at length, attacked on all sides, they began to waver, 
then to yield ground, and finally fled before the French, who swept 
everything before them. Then the tricolored flag, planted on the very 
summit of the Atlas, was saluted by the roll of all the di'ums, the 
flourishes of trumpets, and the enthusiastic shouts of the army. 

The Col de Mouzaia was gallantly carried, (after a desperate fight 
like that of Hooker's at Lookout Mountain "above the clouds,")* 

* Battles above the cloubs are not so rare as many think. In 161)2, there was not 
only a battle fought, but a campaign carried on, on a level with the limit of perpetual 
snow. Marshal Catinat, "■ PerelePensee" a term applied a century afterwards to Napo- 
leon, established his camp on the summit of the Cottian Alps, near Peuestrclles, a spot 
still renowned in military annals as the " Pre de Catinet." The remnants of the French 
and Sardinian entrenchments are still to be discerned amid the snow. In the previous 
century the same nations encountered in as elevated regions, and pitched their tents amid 
the clouds, under the famous Lesdiguieres and Prince Thomas of Savoy, grandfather of 
the great Prince Eugbnio von Savov, as he wrote his name in the languages of the three 
tations from which he derived his blood. 

lu 1797, on the 3-2d March, Massena defeated the Austrians on the summit of the Julian 
Alps, when cavalry charged and artillery manosuvred on fields of ice, while the infantry 
waded to the attack through deep snow drifts. Some of the fortresses which constituted 
the "Armour of Piedmont" are on peaks so lofty that their garrisons often basked in the 
sunshine, \"hen the lower world was entirely shut out from them by strata of clouds. 



BIOGEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 99 

and Medeah occupied. This Algerian " battle above the clouds " 
was as much more romantic in its incidents than our own, as the 
Atlas Mountains exceed in altitude the Lookout range, but not 
more glorious. The disposition of the ground simply made the 
effect finer. 

So much space has been given to the consideration of the de- 
tails of this battle of the Col de Mouzaia, because it very much resem- 
bled our own battle of the South Mountam, 14th September, 1862, 
which the wi'iter looks upon as the most brilliant feat of arms in 
the lo!ig list of glories Avhich the Army of the Potomac can claim 
as their own. The success in the Tenyah Pass, as in that sunny Sun- 
day fight in Turner's Gap, depended on the possession of a peak to 
the right of the road: only the Algerian Peak was 960 metres, 3,200 
feet in height, and the Maryland, 1,000 feet. Lamoriciere andr 
Changarnier had noble representatives in Meajde and Doubled ay, 
and DuviviERin poor Reno. The Duke of Orleans, the hero of the 
day, might have been proud of such a substitute as Hooker ; but 
in McClell.an, Valee had a very poor proxy. It would have 
been well for the former if he had possessed a little of the latter's 
iron will and severity. 

There is a great parity of circumstances between the advance of 
McClellan, from Washington, through Frederick, to Antietam, 
and of Vaxee from Blidah to Medeah, besides the mere fact that 
in both, a mountain range, vigorously defended, had to be over- 
come. It took McClellan twelve days to advance forty-five miles, 
over excellent roads, and through an open and friendly country, 
without opposition — Valee, the same length of time to fight his 
way fifteen miles through an extremely difiicult country, against the 
opposition of every soul in that country who could bear arms ; 
when every hour brought a sku-mish, and every day a bloody con- 
flict. McClellan had ample supplies, and troops double the num- 
ber of his adversary. Valee could depend upon nothing except 
what he could carry with him, and the Arabs outnumbered him at 
least two to one, fighting on their own soil, every inch of which 
was well known to every man, with a virulence and courage which 
the rebels might equal, but could not surpass. When Valee did 
cofue in contact with the enemy entrenched and admh-ably posted 
in his mountain fortress, he inflicted such a defeat upon him as 
neede<i no second battle, no indecisive Antietam, to effect his object, 
the capture of Medeah. Kearny might have told all this to Mc:- 



100 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Clellan, and have afforded him the benefits of "his experience, had 
he been permitted to have access to him, or had his comisels been 
listened to, even if they were not accepted. It is needless to go 
farther, although McCi.elt>an is chargeable with a total want of 
strategy at South Mountain, for he could have turned the rebel po- 
sitions there through Braddock's Gap, a com-se that would have ob- 
viated a hard day's fight, and have produced far gi-eater results, 
with a much less sacrifice of life. But, Valee, if not a man of 
genius, Avas a capable and experienced soldier. No wonder that 
Kearny, when he looked upon McClellan, looked back, as he 
wi'ote, with deep regi'et upon the absence or want of such brilliant 
commanders as those xinder whom he had seen the gi-eat African 
chain conquered and crowned with the ensigns of France. 

Abd-el Kader's troops, thus driven from then- position — selected 
with so much addi-ess, fortified with so much care, and defended 
with so much resolution — fell back into the " Wood of Olives," an- 
other strong post. This is a narrow tongue of land, sejiarating the 
water of the Chiffa from those of Oued-el-Djer, or Djels, midway be- 
tween the Col de Mouzaia and Medeah. Here another short, but 
severe combat ensued, in which Ciiangarnier again distinguished 
himself, and dislodged the Arabs with some loss inflicted upon 
them, and impressed them with still stronger convictions of the fu- 
tility of further resistance to such troops as he commanded. On 
the 17th May, the French army advanced down the Southern slope 
of the mountain and occupied Medeah, one of the objectives of the 
French operations. The other was Milianah next to be assailed. 
These keypoints occupy the same position, relative to Algiers, to- 
wards the south-west, as Constantine, towards the east by south, 
and constituted Abp-el-Kader's chief strongholds in this direction. 

Medeah is situated on a plateau on the summit of the Lesser At- 
las, sm-rounded by a belt of gardens and enormous groves of fruit 
trees, jjarticularly oranges, almonds, and olives; all the tropical 
fruits, however, are produced in abundance. It is one of the old- 
est cities in Africa, of Roman origin ; and an immense aqueduct, of 
Roman construction, clothed with creepers, winding like a serpent 
and following the levels, still conveys to the town the water of tlie 
mountain springs, and feeds its numerous fountains. It was once 
very populous ; and this aqueduct and other Roman remains attest 
its former importance. 

The plateau upon which it is built has a rapid descent towards 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 101 

the valleys of the sea-coast, while it slopes more gently down in the 
du'ection of the desert, so that the town may be said to look into the 
Sahara. Its altitude above the sea is 3,018 feet. This plateau 
sinks sheer down on two sides, and these precipices make it 
susceptible of easy defence. A rather high stone wall, one mile in 
cu'cumference, encompasses the town, pierced by five gates, two to 
the north, and three respectively to the south, east, and west. These 
gates, in 1840, were weakly defended by a few loopholes. Above 
the south gate two old 8-pounder Spanish culverins were mounted, 
which were captm-ed by the French, and preserved as trophies. Like 
Algiers, Medeah has a Casbah and a very pretty palace, the residence 
of the former Bey of Titteri. 

Such was the first purely Ai-ab to^vn which Kearny saw, and 
thence he could look down into the great desert, of which such 
wonderfal stories had been told. Here he had an opportunity to 
note the marked difierences in the climate of Algiers. In winter 
the weather is very cold, and in summer the heat is excessive. But 
when does the summer commence 1 The military author of a 
"Summer in Sahara" speaks, 22d May, 1853, of "winter still hav- 
ing one foot planted on the white summits of the Mouzaia, eight 
miles N.N.W. of the town ;" and Pulszky alludes to the snow cap- 
ped mountains, which cool the hot and dry winds of the desert. The 
mountain Ouanseris, 5,904 feet high, easily seen from Medeah, 
sixty-five miles to the southeast, in January, 1842, was all white 
with snow ; and some sharp needles of the Jm'jura, or Djordjoi-a, 
about the same distance to the eastward, are covered with snow 
the whole year round. 

Castellane, in describing Mascara, still farther to the south, but 
on the same range, says, " the climate is frightful during the winter 
in this part of the country ; snow, rain — rain which beats upon the 
tent like strokes of a stick — ^hail, winds, and every irregularity of 
climate." 

At Medeah, three mountain ranges seem to come together ; one 
from the west, one from the north, and one from the east. Towards 
the south, had the human vision sufficient range, Keaexy might 
have beheld the Great Desert — not altogether so in reaUty, since 
French military exploration has proved it to be an ocean of sand, 
thickly dotted with islands of verdm-e and fertility, with abundant 
water, at no veiy great depth, responding to artesian wells — ^for, 



102 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

as before stated, Medeah, from the elevation of its site, overlooks 
all intervening objects in that dii-ection. 

Lamping, who camj^aigned in this country in 1840-1, remarks 
that the tract of country must have been thickly peopled at some 
former time, judging from the cemeteries which he and his comrades 
saw in then- marches in the district of Medeah. 

" These are generally near the tomb of a marabout, and of enor- 
mous extent : they might truly be called cities of the dead. The 
gi-aves are all exactly alike ; no distinction seems to exist among the 
dead. All are carefully covered with masonry, to keep the jackals 
from scratching up the bodies ; and indeed no one can wonder that 
the Bedouins should wish to rest undisturbed in death after such 
restless, wandering hves. Each gi-ave was marked by a large up- 
right stone, but no date told the dying day of him who lay beneath 
it, no escutcheon proclaimed his bhth and descent." 

On the 20th of May, Valee — having left behind him in Medeah 
a garrison of two thousand fom* hundi'ed men — retraced his steps 
across the Atlas to the farm of the Mouzaia, at the foot of the 
mountain, on the Northern side. The indefatigable Emir did not 
permit the peaceful prosecution of this march. A veiy. severe 
attack upon the rear guard occm-red on the 20th, in the " Wood of 
Olives," in which tliat picked body of men, the Kiflemen, ( Chasseurs 
c?' Orleans, or de Vincemies) suffered such terrible losses that it 
might have been looked upon as destroyed as a battalion, and as 
such it took no further part in this campaign. The first period of 
the gi-eat spring operations was ended. The Duke of Orleans 
and the Duice of Aumale, both of whom had evinced the highest 
distinction in the discharge of their fimctions, bade adieu to the army 
to return to France. All the disposable troops were now brought 
together, and every possible preparation made for the next move. 

While the French were straining every nerve to reorganize their 
cohunns, Abd-el-Kader was not idle, and sought by able disposi 
tions to render his numerous but scattered forces available for a 
protracted defensive. One body remamed in the neighborhood of 
Algiers to harass the territory around this city ; a second maintained 
the blockade of Medeah ; a thhd was posted in the lowlands along 
the River Cheliff to observe and obstruct the advance of a French 
column, upon MHianah ; while a fom-th was posted at the bridge of 
El Cantara, which spanned this river to the west of MiUanah, ou 
the route to Mascara and the province of Oran. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 103 

On the 5th June, the French column, ten thousand strong, started 
afi-esh from Blidah ; pressed forward from the west end of the p\am 
of the Metidj ah into the Atlas; on the 7th passed the Cap or Col 
de Gontas — about fifteen mUes east of Milianah, and about eighteen 
miles west of Medeah — and on the 8th captured Milianah after a 
short but brisk engagement, fortunately in time to arrest the con- 
flagration, kindled by order of Abd-el-K^vder. This, but for 
the efforts of the French, would shortly have laid the whole 
place in ashes. Like Rotopschin, Abd-ei^Kader resolved to 
destroy his Moscow with fire rather than leave it in a condition to 
tempt the return of its own population, which he had driven forth 
to settle in a more inaccessible place, or to serve as a permanent 
shelter to the invader. An immense convoy of ammunition and 
provisions had accompanied the march of his troops, partly to serve 
as a sui^ply for a garrison of three thousand men, which Valee 
established in Milianah, and partly to re-victual Medeah, and thus 
enable its garrison to hold out thi'ough the winter. 

MUianah, situated about eighty miles west-south-west of Algiers, 
nestles in the bosom of the mountains, surrounded on all sides by 
an abundance of water, the greatest of blessings in this torrid clime. 
Towards the north and west the ground is flat, with a gentle descent 
to the plain of Cheliff. Towards the east and south it sinks precipi- 
tously from the wall of the city down into a very deep vallej^, 
wliich, full of the most beautiful gardens, presents a prospect from 
the town which can scarcely be exceeded in beauty. This valley 
of the Cheliff was to Milianah — the Richmond of Abd-el-Kaoer — 
what the Shenandoah Valley was to the rebel capital. It was his 
granary ; the soil scarcely needed the hand of industry to produce 
the richest crops. Magnificent harvests rewarded the rude Arab 
irrigation. On these two last mentioned sides (eastward and south- 
ward) Milianah, Uke Medeah and Constantine, is not susceptible of 
attack. 

Milianah, the ancient Maniana, is another evidence of the stra- 
tegical engineering of the Romans. Its site, like every other 
selected by that wonderful mUitary nation — of whom it was said : 
" A God must have instructed them in the art of war" — rendered it 
a mihtary post of the liighest importance. When Abd-el-Kades 
consigned it to the flames, it wa^ indeed the Emu-'s Moscow. It 
was his chosen city, which he had destined to become the center of 
Ai-ab industry. There he had constructed his forges ; and all his 



104 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

grand establishments, since situated on a detached mountain plateau, 
even as if on a cornice, ("e/i corniche") its position was admii'ably 
calculated against any attack, except that of Em-0]3ean discipline 
and artillery. Handsome houses, flagged with marble, with gal- 
leries in the second story, sui^ported by graceful columns and 
magnificent Moorish sculptm'es, attested the opulence of the ancient 
inhabitants. Four miles to the northeast, the mountain Zakkar 
towers to the height of five thousand and thhty -one feet, the sixth 
peak of the Atlas in altitude. From its flank bursts forth abundant 
fountams of the purest water, not only suflicient to supj^ly the town 
below — ^built on a spur of the lofty source — ^but susceptible of fui-- 
nishiag motive power to a large number of manufactories. When 
the French entered by the Gate of Zakkar, all that remained of 
this comparative magnificence was the palace of the Eimr and a 
few other buildings. 

Lajviping speaks of Milianah as besieged and taken by the French 
on this occasion : 

" One half of the besiegers assailed the town from below, while 
the rest, having planted some cannon on a height commanding the 
town, poured then- shot down upon it. When Abd-el-Kader saw 
he could hold the place no longer, he determined to retreat by the 
only gate which was left still free, and first rode, sword in hand, 
through the streets, cutting do-\vn every one who would not follow 
him. Nearly all effected then* retreat in safety, and most of the 
famines settled on the northern slope of the Lesser Atlas." 

This bears out the wi'iter's recollections of Kearny's account of 
these operations ; he always spoke of this captm-e as the siege of Mili- 
anah, and referred to the cemeteries — such as excited theast onish- 
ment of Lajveping — in connection with this service. He said that 
one of these old Turkish graves made a capital place to sleep in dur- 
ing the investment. The head, foot, and side stones at once afforded 
shelter from the wind, and kept a man from rolling out. Wrapped 
in his cloak, or burnous, he often slept soundly and comfortably 
over one of the former inhabitants, sleeping still more soundly 
underneath him. Castellane refers to a "cemetery which received, 
in 1840, an enthe garrison." It is situated at the foot of the walls, 
and as this is one point fi"om which the town was assailed, it' is very 
likely that this is the spot to which Kearny referred. 

Having left a garrison of three thousand men in Milianah, Valee 
marched thence, 12th June, through the Djendel — ^the district of 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 105 

country between that town and Medeah. Down to 1841 these 
towns had been, as it were, advanced posts of French- African occu- 
pation. After that time they became the basis of French occupa- 
tion in Algeria. This movement was for the purpose of supplying 
Medeah, and in order to do so, it was necessary to cross a spur of 
the Col de Mouzaia, the third time this spring, but now from south 
to north, and not, as previously, from north to south. 

On this occasion the Zouaves — imitation Arabs — moved with 
more celerity than the real natives, and were beforehand in the oc- 
cupation of the pass. By a manoeuvre which proved that Abd-el- 
Kadeb was an intuitive General, the Emu- sm-passed the experi- 
enced leaders of the French in their own profession, and came near 
invohang the whole column in destruction. Finding that he could 
not anticipate the French Light Infantry, he hurried forward his 
Arabs, j)arallel to the French, in perfect silence, under the blind of 
a rocky ridge. Simultaneously, 15th June, both reached the sum- 
mit of the mountain. The van and main body were permitted to 
pass unmolested, but the rear-guard was saluted with an unex- 
pected volley from an invisible enemy. This fire covered the 
ground with dead and wounded. Profiting by the surprise, the 
Arabs threw themselves upon the French, and a hand to hand com- 
bat ensued, in which the Ai-abs, four times repulsed, retm-ned as 
often to the attack. Bayonets, modeled after the yataghan, were 
crossed with the original weapon, swords with the long and keen, 
but rude and home-made dagger of the Arabs, and the discharges of 
the rifles and muskets were answered by pistol-shots, muzzle to 
muzzle. Of the 800 Zouaves and Chassem-s de Vincennes, on 
whom as usual the brunt of the combat fell, 120 were killed, and 
300 wounded. Raasloff says 32 dead, 290 wounded; and adds 
that it reqmred a lively fire of Ai'tillery to bring off the remains of 
the rear-guard. Wliile any soldier must admu'e the disciplined 
coui-age of the French troops, he cannot refuse the highest meed of 
admu-ation to Abd-el-Kader and the regulars he had formed. 
Again and again the Emu- led these regulars to the charge, and, 
judging from results, it would have gone very hard with the French 
if the Ai-ab chief had had a competent artillery, with which to an- 
swer that of the French Marshal. Valee having suppUed Medeah, 
again dispatched Changarnier back to MiUanah with 5,000 men, to 
escort a convoy of provisions. He was again attacked by Abd-el- 
Kader, and only repulsed the Emu- after another severe engage- 



106 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ment. It v/as now the end of June, and the heat had become so 
intense that farther operations were impossible, and on the 5th July 
the army was placed in summer quarters, men and animals pretty 
well used up. The cavalry sent over from France was so thorouo-h- 
\j disorganized, that of the ten squadrons there was no longer any 
trace; and even the GUasseurs d'Afrique, mounted on Moorish 
~\barbs, the artillery and train, could only parade a very few horses 
which were in ser\dceable condition. Of the men, 7,000 died from 
disease between August and December — a mortality of about one- 
eighth, without counting those who fell in battle, or had already 
succumbed from sickness during the thi-ee previous months. 

Nevertheless, the return of the hot season brought with it no 
repose for the troops — ^is the remark of the Duke of Aumale. The 
summer and autumn passed in supplying the posts which the French 
had occupied in the spring, an operation as difficult and as mm'der- 
ous as then- conquest had proved. The bullets of the foe, the 
climate, and incessant fatigue, thinned the ranks of the soldiery, and 
as a just compensation, carried off veiy many of the officers. 

The Duke of Aum^vle, in his historical sketches of the Zouaves 
and Foot Chassem's or Riflemen — then* real title might be trans- 
lated African Foot Cavalry — ^Paris, 1855, says it would be impos- 
sible, in a succinct narrative, to describe all the combats which took 
place during this bloody campaign on the plain of the Metidjah ; at 
the Col (pass) of Mouzaia; at the foot of the Chenouan ; in the valley 
of the Cheliff; on the Ouamri; at the Gontas. Every day was 
marked by an engagement, every inch of ground was disputed. 
The cavahy of all the tribes of the provinces of Algiers and of 
Oran, supported and kept in hand by the Emu-'s '^ Meds" — ^the 
name given by the French soldiers to Abd-el-Kader's regular cav- 
alry, clad entu'ely in red or scarlet — inundated the plain ; every 
passage of the mountain was defended by the Emu-'s regular infan- 
try, and by thousands of Kabyles. 

This insures the fact that Kearny learned his business in a very 
hard but thorough school, for the lightest of the French trooper's 
duties in Africa is less \\ke a military promenade than many deemed 
the worst in European soldiering. For fortitude, as well as for gal- 
lantry, he won equal consideration, and in one of the marches (when, 
under a torrid sun, water was so scarce and thu-st so burning that 
the men thi'ew themselves down to lick xip a puddle) Kearnt 
marched on foot to add his example to those afforded by his regular 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 107 

comrades. Moreover, on this occasion, when many had to be 
brought in on ambulances or vehicles, he came in among the fore- 
most on foot, high in sph'it, however exhausted in strength. It is a 
great pity that his journal of these trials is lost, for this expedition, 
although " illustrated by so many deeds of glory," was attended 
Avith no results adequate to its harassing labors, inasmuch as the 
French colmnns on their retui-n to the coast were followed by the 
Arabs of Abd-el K.u)ER, who swept with fire and sabre the plains 
betAveen the Atlas and the capital of Algiers. Nevertheless, it 
taught IvEAR>fY many a lesson, tm-ned to account in his after years ; 
in his Mexican campaigns ; his expedition agamst the Indians of 
Oregon ; and that year of service against the rebels — lessons which 
boi-e fruit in the admii-able discipline and police of his First New 
Jersey Brigade, and in the example he set to the officers and men 
of the army ; an example imitated so honorably by Bekrt, who 
followed his type to glory at Chancellorsville, and Birney, who, up 
to the end of the war, helped to make the reputations of others, and 
win successes of which the rewards were reaped by immediate 
superiors. 



Paris, April 20th, 1840. 

Sir : — I have the honor to inform you, that I left Sanmur on the 25th of March, 
since which time ill health has obhged me to remain at this place. In accordance 
vnth. my letter to j'ou of October 16th, 1839, after remaining attached to the 
Cavalry School at Saumur for six months, for the purposes therein mentioned, I 
have left it to carry out the objects proposed when I came abroad : that is, to, by 
personal examination, make myself acquainted with the practices of cavalry regi- 
ments in the French and other services. In that same letter I mentioned that I 
thought it would be profitable to visit the regiments serving in Africa, as there 
alone would I have the opportunity of observing troops in active service in the 
field. This present spring's campaign, under the Duc d'Orleajs^s and Marshal 
Valee, has presented an occasion which I am anxious to improve. It is true 
that you have not signified your opinion to me since receiving my communication, 
but as you had laid out no system of travels for me in particular, when I left 
America, I presumed that had it not met with your approbation, you would 
have signified the same to me. Indirectly and unofiicially, however, I have heai-d 
that in respect to the plans in my letter, you made no objections ; though, indeed, 
so unofficially- has it reached me<that I would not be justified in an ordinary case 
in considering it an authority, but in my i>eculiar situation it is a circumstance to 
aid me in making up my determination. Were the campaign a thing I qould see 
some months later, I would be far better satisfied in waiting till I heard from you 
explicitly, and till my health, which has been extremely delicate, was in a greater 
measure restored to me. But that cannot be, as after the middle of June all 
active operations cease, and do not recommence till late in fall, or the ensuing 



108 BIOGRAPHY OF ILUOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

year ; and that this ig a subject more worthy of my attention than aught else, I 
am fully persuaded of from what service I have had in the Dragoons, and more 
especially from our Colonel's high opinion of the ends to be obtained by an exam- 
ination of what a theatre of war must constantly present. 

It is, sir, with extreme regret that I find myself without -WTitten intructions for 
myself, and directions to our Minister at this Court, to exercise his influence in 
my behalf, for I am thus obliged to go as a mere private officer traveling, instead 
of an accredited agent of the public, which throws in my path obstacles, where 
there otherwise would be none. Might I then ask for instructions, it would be. 
more satisfactory, as assuring me of your approval of such plans as I may have 
laid down, or giving me orders to pursue another course. I should think it most 
advisable for me, in the course of the ensuing summer, after my retm-n, to be 
present at the Camp of Instruction at Lundville, where, annually, five to six 
thousand cavalry are assembled ; and, also, to visit the German and English Cav- 
alry, As the system of schools varies always essentially from the practices in 
regiments, I have refrained from sending communications to the Department 
which might be incorrect in then- conclusions, as applied to the French Army 
generally, and wait until I have studied regiments in detail. Still I have seen 
sufficient to be convinced that though the French theory of tactics is the most per- 
fect, and though (as they are allowed by all nations) their manner of going 
through a campaign is the least harrassing and destructive of soldiers, that here 
the study of their army stops. For their grooming and the state of their horses, 
their stables, and everything that refers to them, their quarters, and everytking 
pertaining to high discipline in garrison and military neatness, are everywhere 
here wretched in the extreme — to a degree that would not be tolerated nor dreamt 
of in the most slovenly company of our whole regiment. These points must b< 
studied in England, where, perhaps, they are carried to an excess, and in Germany 
where, both in the Prussian and Austrian cavalry, I believe it must be perfect. 

Sir, I leave Paris to-morrow. The campaign Avas to have opened on the 20th 
April (to-day), and I indulge the hope of, by rapid traveling, not beuag more than 
a week behind hand. 

I have the honor to be. 

With high consideration, 

Your obedient servant, 

(Signed) P. KEARNY, 

Firsl Lieutenant First Dragoons- 
The Honorable J. R. Poinsett, 

Secretary of War. 



AiiGiERs, 7th May, 1840. 
MON. General VISCOUNT DE SCHRAMM. 

General :-~I take the liberty of sending yon this letter at the same time that 
I transmit to you the letters of General Cass, Ambassador of the United States 
near His Majesty the King of the I'rench, addressed, the one to yourself, the other 
to General Viscount de Rxjmigny, m the hope that you will have the kindness to 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 109 

obtain for me an authorization from His Highness the Duke op Orleans, or 
from Marslial Valee to join the first expedition which can take place during the 
time I can remain in Algiers. 

I would not liave taken the liberty to make this request if I was not an officer 
sent out by the Government of the United States, with the object of studying my 
profession in Europe in order to introduce improvements into our Cavalry. 
With this intention I have been attached for the last seven months to the Royal 
Cavalry School at Saumur ; and I am one of the three officers admitted by the 
Government in last October. At present I have the permission of my Govern- 
ment to travel during the rest of the year, to observe the practicable working o£ 
the regiments themselves. In doing so, I am entirely free to dispose of my time 
as seems most advantageous to myself. Still as our ambassador has no positive 
instructious fi'om our Government to prefer this request to the French Govern- 
ment, he considered that the letters addressed to you and to General RUMIGNY 
(ydth. whom he had the honor of being acquainted) would be sufficient to obtain 
this authorization, if such a request was a proper one to bo granted. A severe 
sickness pi-evented me from arriving in Africa before the departure of this 
expedition, but if it should last some time longer I would be happy to join it 
immediately. In any event, I request your intermediation to obtain for me an 
authorization to join the next, even if it consists of only a single regiment. 

This request is not made with the intention of annojdng you by joining the 
General's staff, which must always be sufficiently numerous, but to attach myself 
to some regiment of Cavalry which belongs to an Army Corps. 

I have the honor to be, mth the highest consideration. 

Your very humble and very obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, 

Lieutenant Dragoons, United States Army. 



ALGrEBs, May 8th, 1840. 
Thb Honobabls J. R. POINSETT : 

Sir : — I have the honor to inform you that I arrived here yesterdaj'^, the 7th of 
May. 

I was unable to leave on the 21st, as I had expected, General Cass changing his 
intention as to applying for me for an authorization from the French Minister of 
War to join the intended expedition; moreover, I was detained two more days, till 
the 24th of May [April] , in waiting for the private letters he had offered me to 
Generals Schramm and Rusiigny, and which were necessary as introduction to 
theij- notice. This made me too late for the packet from Toulon of the 27th, and 
it only leaves weekly. 

Our Consul here, IMr. Jacrous, has, since my arrival, exercised in my behalf 
the influence he has ; but, as I had not an authorization from the Minister of War, 
the commandant of the place, Colonel DE MARENGO, did not feel himself entitled, 
though anxious to serve me, to grant me a pass to join the armj^, but forwards by 
to-day's express, my letters for me. As I find that the army left on the 2Gth, 
from Blida, and' the communications are impracticable but for large convoys and 
escorts, I have little reason to be flattered with the hopes of an answer being in 



110 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

time to be of the ser-\-ice I had hoped. As the letters General Cass favored me 
with to General Schramm and to General Kumigny did not enter at all into the 
details of my ha%-ing been sent abroad by Government, and the objects of my 
travels, I felt necessitated to accompany them by one fi-om myself, applying to 
General Schramm, who is Chief of the Staff of the Army of Africa, to obtain for 
me from the Marshal Valee or the Due d'Orleajs^s (though he is here only acting 
as a subordinate General) an authorization to join any expedition that might take 
place wliilst I remained in Africa — in fine, a permission to be at liberty to pass 
wherever I might please in Africa. I herewith send you a copy of the same. 

Successful or not in this or any other endeavor I may make whilst abroad to 
obtain those ends for which Government has sent me, Iselieve me, Sir, as always 
actuated by the truest zeal for the service, and it is in this that I rest the hope, in 
some degree, to make up the deficiencies of laiowledge and the want of experience. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, 

With the highest sense of respect, 

Yom- obedient servant, 
(Signed) P. KEARNY, 

Lieutenant First Dragoons, 
The Honorable J. R. Poi:nsett, 

Secretary of War, United States. 



Algiers, July 1st, 1840. 

Sir : — I have the honor to report myseK as j ust returned from the late expedi- 
tion in the pro\ince of Algiers, Africa, under the orders of Marshal Valee, and 
at the same time transmit, to be forwarded to the Secretary of War, a letter 
— [letter and report both lost] — detailing some observations made whilst with 
the French troops. 

I have the honor to be, 

Your most obedient servant, 

(Signed) P. KEARNY, Jr., 

Lieutenant First Begiment Dragoons. 
General R. Jones, 

Adjutant General United States Army, Washington, D, C. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE EOCKT MOUNTAINS. 

THE SOUTH PASS. 

" Well pleased, could we pursue 
The Amo, from his birth-place in the clouds, 
So near the yelIo\y Tiber's — springing up 
From his four fountains on the Apenuine, 
That mountain-ridge, a sea-mark to the ships 
Sailing on either sea." Eoqebs' "Italy." 

In the fall of 1840, Lieutenant Philip Kearny returned from liis 
Em'opean mission, having done honor to Mr. Poinsett's selection of 
him as well as to the American name. He was almost immediately 
appointed aid-de-carap to Major-General Alexanbek Macomb, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the United States Ai-my. This distinguished 
officer is best known to the American people for his decisive victory 
at Plattsburgh, 11th September, 1814, when, with one thousaiid 
five hundi'ed Regulars, aided by a body of three thousand militia 
and volunteers — under Generals Moers, a soldier of the Pevolu- 
tion, and Strong; — from New York and Vermont, he repulsed and 
defeated an army of fi-om fourteen thousand to fifteen thousand 
British veterans, fresh from triumphs over the troops who had 
conquered Em-ope, imder the leading of IST.apoleon and his chosen 
Lieutenants. Kearny retained this position until the death of 
General Macomb, which took j^lace, at the Headquarters of the 
Ai-my and Capital of the nation, 25th June, 1841. From October 
to December of that year he was on duty at the United States 
Cavahy Barracks at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Thence he returned 
to Washington as aid-de-camp to Major-General Winfield Scott, 
next Commander-in-Chief of the United States Ai-my, With him 
Kearny remained — " dispensing elegant hospitality" — from Decem- 
ber, 1841, to April, 1844, when he was relieved and ordered to 
join his company. On 12th May, 1844, he was with his regiment 
at Fort Leavenworth, and was enabled by his experience in Africa 

111 



112 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

to prepare liis immediate command for efficient service against the 
Indians, and the projected display of om- mihtary strength upon the 
plains. 

In May, 1845, Colonel Stephen Watts Kearnt, with five com- 
panies of his regiment,' the First United States Dragoons, made a 
march to the South Pass at the summit of the Rocky Mountains. 
This was the first military expedition which struck out so far from 
the settlements into^ the Indian country. Its object was to aAve 
the savages and thus alFord protection to -the emigrants who were 
crossing the jjlains in great numbers on their way to settle in Ore- 
gon. The Avriter is indebted for some particulars of it to Major 
Alexander Saranac Mac03ib, brother-in-law to General, then 
Lieutenant, Philip Kearny, whose tent-mate he was on this 
occasion. 

The incidents of this military promenade are the more familiar 
to his mind, and afforded the Major greater pleasure, since he found 
himself once more among old friends and associates, having served 
three years with the First Dragoons before he was transferred to 
the Second Regiment, and thence as aid-de-camp to the staff of his 
father, Major-General Macomb. The many agreeable reminiscences 
connected with the novelty of the trip, the jokes among comrades 
on the march and by the camp-fire, would naturally make all who 
sm-vive look back with pleasure to the period when they were still 
young and fresh enough to eiijoy an excursion which was accom- 
panied with just enough danger to season it. 

The staff of this expeditionary column consisted of: 

Lieutenant Henry S. Turner, Adjutant and Acting Assistant 
Adjutant-General of the Third Military Department on the expedi- 
tion through the Rocky Mountains, and at the headquarters in St. 
Louis, Missouri, 1845 ; Captain First Dragoons, April 2d, 1846 ; in 
the war with Mexico, 1846-47, as Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of the Army of the West, participating in the combat of San 
Pascual, California, 6th December, 1846, where he was wounded by 
a lance; Skii-mish of San Bernardo, California, 7th December, 
1846 ; Passage of the San Gabriel River, California, 8th January, 
1847; and Skirmish on the Plains of Mesa, 9th January, 1847. 
He resigned, 21st July, 1848. This gentleman is (1868) President 
of the Union National Bank of St. Louis, Missouri, and the author 
has to thank him for much interesting information. 

He was Actmg Assistant Adjutant-General on the Staff of Briga 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP K^parnY. 115 

dier-General Atkinson at the same time that Philip Keaknt ^>..a 
attached to the same military family as Aid, in 1839y 

Lieutenant Ja^ies Henry Carleton, Quartermaster, afterwards 
Brigadier-General. 

Lieutenant William Benjamin Fkanklin, Topogi-aphical En- 
gineer. This very able, scientific man, afterwards rose to the rank 
of Major-General of Volunteers, and commanded, first a Corps, and 
then a Grand Division in the Army of the Potomac, afterwards the 
Expedition to the Sabine Pass. « :;: ;;: ^ ,-;; -; 

His division comprised the fiimous New Jersey Brigade, made and 
commanded, from 14th August, 1861, to 2d May, 1802, by General 
Kearny. 
' G. J. De Camp, Surgeon, since dead. 

The five companies of Dragoons were commanded respectively 
by: 

Captain Philip St. George Cooke, now Brigadier General and 
Brevet Major General U. S. Army; author in 1862, of a new 
book of Cavalry Tactics. 

Captain Benjamin D. Moore, killed' 6th December, 1846, in a 
charge upon the Mexican Lancers at the battle of San Pascual. 
******* 

Lieutenant William Eustis, afterwards, 1845, Captain of 1st 
Drasroons, resigned 1849. He was the son of Brevet Brifjadier 
General Abram Eustis, who served in the war of 1812-'! 5, who 
died Colonel of 1st U. S. Artillery, at Portland, Maine, 1843. He 
was a very fine officer, and Hooker says he owed a great deal to 
his training. Captain Eustis is still living, a prominent civil 
engineer at Natchez, Mississippi, and has shown gi-eat kindness in 
assisting the writer in the preparation of chapter on the Ball at 
Saumur. 

1st Lieutenant Philip Kearny. Kearny, Eustis and Turner 
while in France, and at the cavalry school of Saumur, translated 
the French Cavahy Tactics, which in 1841 was adopted for the TJ- 
S. Dragoons, and published by order of J. R. Poinsett, Secretary 
of War. 

Lieutenant Philip Kearny^s command was a fine company, under 
good discipline, and evinced in every respect the influence of its 
commander, who always had the power of infusing a high militaiy 
spirit into his men. 



112 BIOGR>T^^ OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Iq i-^is command, 1st U. S. Dragoons, took up its line of March 
iromFort Leavenworth about the middle of May, as soon as the 
grass was sufficiently grown to aiFord good gi'azing for the animals. 
Fifty head of sheej) and twenty-five head of oxen were driven with 
the column xmder charge of the commissary, by order of Colonel 
Kearnt, "always a provident officer, so that the officers and men 
were furnished with fresh beef and mutton, every now and then, vm- 
til they got into" the buffalo country." It is more than likely, how- 
ever, that this foresight was due to the lessons learned by Lieuten- 
anth-KEAJRNY in his Algerian campaign, for, according to Lieutenant 
• LA3rpiNG,(0]denburgh Service, author of the "French in Algiers," 
who served as a private for some time in the Foreign Legion, and 
participated in a great number of severe expeditions,) " besides 
what rations were loaded on mules, each soldier carried nine days' 
provisions, consisting of ship biscuit, rice, coffee, and sugar. Bread 
and wine are not given on a campaign, owing to the very limited 
means of transport, for it would be imj^ossible to use wagons and 
the number of mules and donkeys required to carry the provisions, 
for a march of five weeks is great enough as it is. Cattle are di'iv- 
en, and during an expedition each soldier is allowed double rations 
— that, is one pound of meat daily." 

The tactics adopted by the French generals in Africa afford capi- 
tal lessons for the warfare on our plains, nor are the habits and 
'usages of the semi-barbarous tribes of Africa, or those of the 
Turcos, which won such a name in the Solferino campaign — a corps 
organized by the French — ^\'ery unlike the American savages, even 
in the treatment of the dead. Both as a rule torture the living 
captive, and the Kabyle carries off, as a pendant at his saddle bow, 
the whole head of a fallen enem?y ; whei-eas the Indian strips off the 
scalps to ornament his person or accoutrements. The Indian is the' 
most sensible, for the scalp is easily preserved, and more merciful, as 
far as life is concerned, for, if rescued in time, a scalped man 
may sm-vive ; a man with his head wholly or even half severed off, 
certainly not. Moreover a' dead-head is a ghastly object at best, 
and soon becomes unpleasant unless salted or smoked, as practiced 
by the Dyaks of Borneo, who set as great a value on the heads of 
then" enemies as the Kabyle, and take as much pains to secure them 
and more to preserve them longer as cherished ornaments of theu* 
homes. 

" The bivouac of a French column in Afi'ica usually forms a perfect 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 115 

square, modified, of course, by the ground ; the infantry, who are 
outside, lie in double file behind their piled arms. Each battalion 
sends out one company as an advance j^ost, and another company 
remains within the lines as a picket. The baggage, artillery, and 
cavahy hre placed in the middle. The cavalry do not furnish any 
outposts as horsemen, especially in broken ground, as they are too 
much exposed to the fire of the Bedouins and Kabyles, who steal sin- 
gly tOAvards us. The infantry, on the contrary, can more easily hide 
themselves, and by laying their faces close to the ground can hear 
the slightest sound, i This is essential, as the Bedouins nnd Kabyles 
upon all fom-s, like wild beasts, fall upon single outposts, or shoot' 
them fi'om a distance when they can see them ; for which reason 
the outposts change their ground after dark, to deceive the enemy. 
They generally di-aw back a little, leaving then- #atch fires burnino-, 
which enables them to see whatever passes between them and the 
fire." 

TheJ.ine of march followed was that which is called the "Oregon 
Trace," along the North Fork of the Platte River. At Fort Lara- 
mie, what hve stock remained were left to fatten, as bison were 
now at baud. At this Fort commences the ascent of the moimtains ; 
it is very gradual, and quite i^racticable for wagons. Along the 
valley of the Sweet River, fat bufialoes were met in abundance. 
About the -1st July, the command reached the summit of the South 
Pass, and the troops were mustered at the head waters of the rivers 
which flow thence into the Pacific. The retm-n march was by the 
same route as far as Laramie ; thence along the base of the moun- 
tains to Bent's Fort, under Pike's Peak, a considerable trading post 
near New Mexico, and thence again along the Sante Fe Trace, to 
Fort Le'avenworth. The troops arrived in splendid condition, hav- 
ing accomplished a distance of about two thousand three hundi-ed 
miles in ninety-nine days, without the loss of a man by accident or 
sickness, and with the expenditure of but a few horses. 

General Stephen Watts Kearnt held a council with a large de- 
legation of Sioux warriors at Fort Laramie, and" this display of 
troops, at this date, so far out from the settlements, had the desu-ed 
efiect, and for some time to come the emigrants were not molested 
by the Indians. . ^ 

The following notices of prominent objects encountered along 
this march westwards, although not compiled from the con-espon- 
dence of Keaknt or officers attached to the expedition of 1845, 



116 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOU-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

are, nevertheless, pertinent. The reader will find them gi'aphie 
and interesting from the peculiar manner in which things seen are 
presented and commented on. They are from the pen of a common 
friend — an officer who distinguished himself in the Mexican war 
— who traversed, a few years afterwards, the same route fol- 
lowed by the expeditionaiy column, while things remained in about 
the same condition, and long before those great changes occm-red 
which made such a stride in advance, in ten years, as would have 
cost half a centmy for then* accomplishment in the Old World. 

About one hundred miles west of Fort Leavenworth, that fertile 
soil, which attracted into Kansas such vast numbers of immigrants 
with its prolific yield, changes its character and becomes less and 

less prolific. 

Fort Leavenworth. 

" The land is pretty nearly occupied at last — tliat is, the good land ; for, from 
about a hundred miles westward of this point to the Rocky Mountains — a distance 
of some five or six hundred miles — the soil is said to be very poor an;l not worth 
occupying. There is probably more waste arable land in the Continent of Asia 
now than there is in North America. 

" The prairie is a hea-\dng, swelling ocean of grass, mingling mistily with the 
sky, like the unbounded sea. In the ravines — or rather troughs of this sea — are 
occasional streams, or perhaps series of water-holes, bordered with a thin skirt of 
trees. All else is grass. A strange absence of animated life is observed. A soli- 
tary wolf now and then ; one antelope ; a few doves and larks ; two or three crows . 
a few other birds, one toad, one lizard, and some cat-fish, are almost the only living 
things, except grasshoppers and flies, that we have seen in the entire distance tra- 
versed. Not until two or three days since did we begin to see even the wreck of a 
buffalo, their bleaching, decajdng skulls and bones then beginning to appear scat- 
tered here and there upon this their vast and ancient pasture ground. Their car- 
casses, as we advanced, became more numerous, until at length, yesterday, we saw 
pieces of their furry skins, recently torn off, scattered about the deserted lodges of 
the Pawnees." 

[Some eighty miles east of Fort Kearny, about midway between 
that post and Fort Leavenworth, upon the left or north bank of the 
" Little Blue," a branch of the Republican River.] 

" After a soaldng day's march, the rain-clouds of the day are retiring in the dis- 
tance, Avith low-muttered thunder ; the lightning flashes out, as of a summer's 
eve, at various points of the horizon ; and small masses of clouds move slowly over 
the twilight sky of the west, as if surveying the field of battle of the day. The 
air is mild and warm, and the cricket is filling the stillness of the night with its 
pleasant song. 

" Not the least pleasant part of the march, to my ear, is the harvest hjann of the 
insects, which raise a constant strain of thanksgiving — a joyous fritinancy of song — 



I 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 117 

for the ripe weed-seeds that grow along the road, for the road is bordered » with 
weeds. As if in fulfilment of the curse pronounced upon man, they spring up, not 
only where he tills the land, but even where his wagon-wheels have plowed, 

" The column as seen in the distance, moving across the prairie, presents the 
api)carance of a small blacldsh head, (for the regiment looks small in such un- 
bounded space,) followed by a very long whitish tail. This tail is the baggage- 
train, for the wagons, drawn by six mules each, are roofed with wliite cotton covers. 

" The Platte River, upon the right bank of which we are encamped, is by far 
the greatest curiosity that we have seen. It seems to be nearly a mile wide, and 
3'et it is so shallow that one may wade across it. Its current is all filled mth sand- 
flats and little islets. It is but very little below the general level of the country. 
Eight along the edge of the stream is a little ridge of sand, and then several miles 
back is a larger ridge. The land between these ridges is xery level and is all sand, 
except a little co-\'cring of black vegetable mould. The horses lick tliis soil in a 
way that shows that there is something saline in it ; and it is here, perhaps, that 
the buffalo finds salt, or its substitute. It is said that if holes be dug in this soil 
for water, the water is cool and pleasanter to the taste than the river water, but 
that it is certain death to drink it. The country is very level, and the Great Pacific 
Eailroad, if ever built, may run along the Platte, from its mouth, above Fort 
Leavenworth, to where it takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains. There is not so 
much timber, however, but that even ties, as well as rails, would have to be brought 
from a distance. , _ 

" Our road still leads up the right -bank of the Platte, which still remains as 
great a curiosity as ever. Imagine an immense ditch dug through the tolling, 
undulating prairie from west to east — from the Rocky Mount;iins to the Missouri 
River — some several miles in width, and two or three hundred feet in depth, and 
you can form some idea of the valley through which the Platte runs. The ri\er 
itself is in the middle of this valley, and consists of a mile or more in mdth of 
shallow threads of water running among sand flats and small islands. The banks 
of the river are but a little above the water, while those of the valley are deeply 
seamed and gullied, and look like chains of rugged mountains. On the precipitous 
slopes of some of the deep gullies there ai-e clumps of cedar, reminding one of the 
belts of fir trees that are lifted up into the cold, thin an* by the loftiest mountains. 
Nowhere else is this cedar seen here. The smooth, wide, and nearly level bottom 
valley is verdant with rich pasture, and along the course of the river, on either side, 
numerous herds of buffalo are seen grazing. 

" At one of our encampments a buffalo was noticed wading across the river 
towards us, and some of the men couched in the gi-ass to lie in wait for him. On 
he came, boldly and determinedly, though occasionally stopping to look at our 
camp. Numerous mules and horses were feeding peacefully there, and this seemed 
to reassure him. Presently, reaching the shore and mounting the bank, he stoi> 
pcd a while in half surprise to gaze upon the novelty of the scene before him. 
There he stood, with his shaggy front lifted up high, in a boldness of relief and 
an untamed spiritedness of attitude that gave him, I assure you, a most magnificent 
appearance. Pang ! went a rifle : and the noble brute but barely blinked. AVhang ! 
went another ; and now he starts on the run for the inland priarie. But whang ! 
Wiiang ! ! whang ! ! ! go the fire-arms — pistols, musketoons, and rifles of all sorts. 



118 BIOGBAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Pierced mtli numerous balls, the amazed animal stops again to gaze ; and so do 
his pursuers stop, half-frightened at the blood and fierceness of his look. Again 
he starts to run, and again his pm-suers renew their fire, until at length, exhausted 
by his efforts to escape, and from the loss of blood from liis many wounds, he falls, 
tumbles down upon the plain, and out the butcher sallies with steel and knife to cut 
him up." 

[Camp near Court House Rock, two hundred and forty miles 
west of Fort Kearny, on the North Platte.] 

" Court House Rock is a castle-like mass of lunestone, which probably received 
its name from those with whom a court-house was considered as the grandest of 
all edifices. Near by it are two other masses, which from this point look like pyra- 
mids. There is a solidity, repose, durability, and a gradual ascending of the 
thoughts towards heaven in the pyi-amid, that doubtless gave that monument a 
great retroactive effect upon the character and manners of the Egyptians. How 
serene is the expression of the face of all their ancient statues ! 

" ' Chimney Rock,' a little to the west of the preceding freak of nature, ought 
to be called ' Monumental Rock,' for it is perfectly like a monument. The valley 
of the river opened out there, and this monument, as it stands on the slope of the 
right bank of the valley, overlooks an immense level region of country, and can 
be seen from a great distance. As we struck our camp and marched by it early in 
the morning, we entered, among numerous other resemblances to works of art> 
such as temples, palaces, pyramids, domes, towers, turrets, and buttresses ; and 
finally, after a march of some twenty miles, an immense wall, not unlike a city's 
wall, extended across the way, rising to the height of five hundred to one thousand 
feet above the river, and through which there is a lofty gate-way.* Through this 
gate- way we passed, while a hawk was hovering around its summit, as if around a 
mountain's crag. So like the ruins of a Babylon or a Karnac, or some such city, was 
the entire scene of this day's march, that when, at an early hour, the cry of the 
wolf, like that of the jackall, resounded through the stillness, the illusion was 
almost perfect. And then the reflection arose — where's the difference between 
this, nature's mockery of ai't, and art itself, since, some once-mighty Thebes, where 
myriads of human beings have swarmed, and where human art has run its course, 
what now remains but exactly such shapes as these ? The primeval stillness that 
rests upon the one could hardly be distinguished from the pall of oblivion that has 
settled over the other. 

" From the gateway on, our route has not presented much of interest ; being 
almost void of animal life, and scorched with drouth. 

"We have passed through the lofty gateway of Scott's Bluffs, and encamped 
among the mock ruins. These when the morning dawned, shewed to a beautiful 
effect, dome, pyramid, turret, tower, monument and battlement, rising in calm re- 
pose amidst the grey light. And wheu two Indians came riding over the scene, 
like any two Arabs over the ruins of a Karnac or a Nineveh, the illusion for a 
moment was complete. There was a charm in this apparent playful effort of in- 

* This is almost tlie same lusus natures as the " Iron Gates" of the Atlas, only this ia 
single and those are quadruple. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 119 

telligence on the part of nature that was quite captivating. Here, before the hu- 
man race was created — before man was born — Natui'e had mimicked beforeliand 
his proudest seats of empire. From the lofty walls in the west to the monument 
in the east (which needed only the figure of a man upon it with folded arms, in a 
pensive mood, to be complete), the distance was more than twenty miles ; giving 
a grand idea of the vastness of this irony of nature at the grandeur of man. It 
is in a Nvilderness which ■will jDrobably never become much peopled, and the 
sandy, shallow Platte flows away in mock commercial importance in the distance. 
Our good mother, Nature, seems to be in a very kindly, amiable mood, when she 
can be thus so seriously facetious at our expense. 

" If you have been in Canada again this summer, you may probably have fallen 
in Avith some Sioux Indians ; for, if I am not mistaken, they used to reside about 
the great lakes, and have gradually retired from these before the advance of the 
white man. They extend now along the Platte far up into the Rocky IMountains. 
A party of these which met us as we were coming away fom Laramie, fur- 
nished the cplunin considerable amusement. It consisted of an Indian and his 
■wife and two small children. The man was mounted on a horse, with a boy astride 
behind hun. He wore a soldier's cap with a feather stuck in it, and by his side 
hung a large dragoon's sabre. He looked pretty fierce and warlike, but behind 
him was another horse which he led by a lariat. Two lodge-poles were attached 
to both sides of this horse, at one end, while at the other they trailed upon the 
ground; and upon a staging, fixed upon these poles, rode his wnle and a small 
girl. It was as odd a compromise between savage and civilized life as over was 
seen. The addition of an axle-tree and two wheels to the poles would have been 
an effort at civilization absolutely beyond the Indian's capacity; yet he seemed to 
be, naturally, as much of a man in every respect as we are. * * 

"We have passed several large collections of lodges, and there is now one just 
above me, and another below ; for the Indians still come here, as has been their 
wont, to intercept the buffalo when they come down from the prairie to drink in 
the Platte and roll their huge carcasses in the sand and mud. • » • But 
their white conical lodges, the original of Sibley's tent, seen amidst the green 
margin of the Platte, look pretty. Near them, always, are tripods, formed of 
three poles tied together at the tops, from which are suspended quivers and a 
white shield. In time of war, however, the sliield is red. It is a tasty, picturesque 
sight, and I suspect that it originated with the Canatlian French, who, from mari- 
tal alliances with the Sioux, seem to follow them westward into the mountains. 

" This Point (Fort Laramie) appears to be the center of the buffalo-robe trade — 
not that the buffalo are numerous here, but that the trade naturally finds this as 
one of its centers. 

" I am told that the robes are prepared by the Indian women, and that a great 
deal of patient labor is bestowed upon them. To tan the robe they put upon the 
hairless side a preparation made of the brains, liver, and marrow of the animal ; 
and the skin is made supple by being dra'wn repeatedly athwart a rope. 

" Already these robes have become comfortable, for, though the days axe very 
warm, the nights are cold. We are at an. elevation of four thousand two hundred 
and fifty feet above the level of the sea — an elevation at this latitude which ought 
to render it pretty cool the year round. 



120 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

" Fort Laramie, for an outpost, is a pretty place. It is situated in a large basin 
through which a clear large stream, called Laramie Forks, flows, skirted with cot- 
ton-wood trees. A bridge across this stream ; the white edifices of the post ; the 
nmnerous men and animals of the military corps now assembled here ", the blue 
peaks of mountains seen in the west — all these form a scene which, come upon in 
so wild and desert a region, looks odd, interesting, and beautiful. 

"The westernmost of the Rocky Mountains, ' Laramie Peak,' will soon be peer- 
ing at us over the intervening hills." 

[Camp two hundi-ed and fifty miles west of Fort Laramie.") 

^' At length we have left the Platte, which we had followed so long, and struck 
across to one of its tributaries, which we are still on, and which is called the SMxet 
Water. It is a fine, large mountain brook, clean, sweet, musical in its bubble, and 
stocked ■v\ith fish ; but not a tree or shrub is seen along its course. Its com-se is 
from the S.W., and it is one of the remotest tributaries of the IVIississippi. We 
shall still fclloAv it several days up the South Pass, where its head source is not 
far £fom that of other brooks which flow westward into the Pacific. 

' ' A few hours before arriving upon the banks of this stream, we passed through 
a region where potash occurred in the greatest abundance. There were several 
ponds Ijing along our route that had become dried up, and the potash that was 
left in them looked like that which is seen in the potash kettle after the lye has 
been evaporated. It lay in large clots, so that hundreds of tons might have been 
shoveled up. 

" We are at length among the Rocky Mountains indeed, and if you were to see 
them you would admit that they merited their name. Such nude, bold masses of 
granite I have never before seen. They rise as abruptly from the sandy soil around 
them as if fi'om the waters of the sea — no debris lie scattered do^^Ti their sides, 
only a few stunted cedar or pine dot them here and there, and small patches of 
grass among the rifts invito the mountain sheep — all else is cold, bare, massi\'e 
granite. But what is remarkable, such only is the case with these mountains, 
that for the last four days have appeared on our right — those on our left have 
been covered vnth. soil, and seemed black with fir forests from their crests half 
way down their flanks — the rest of their height being brovra with grass. 

"To-day we have been In sight, almost all the time, of Fremont's Peak. It is 
a range of mountains, rather than a peak, and is covered ^\ith snow ; a garland of 
beautiful cumulus clouds has hung round its brow all day." 

[Camp at " Red Buttes," about fifty miles N. W. of Laramie 
Peak.] 

" The Sweet- Water is rather an interesting stream. For some thirty or forty 
miles of its course it runs along the base of a chain of gi-anitic hills. At last it 
runs through them in a chasm about one hundred feet wide and two or three 
hundred in depth. It looks, at first view, as if that gentle, pellucid stream had 
worn a passage through the hard granite — that after dallying along theu* base for 
a while, as might a young gii'l -Nnth an old bald pated man, it finally bolted right 
through them, and went laughing away in freedom into the open countiy beyond; 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJQR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 121 

but on a closer examination I was confinned in a pre\'ious opinion, that the chan- 
nels of rivers are formed /o?* them oftener than they are by them. This strange 
passage through the rock is called ' The Devil's Gate.' " 

[Summit of " South Pass," East slope.] 

" I write you from the hanks of a hj^aline stream skirted with golden willows. 
The pure crystalline Sweet- Water runs away in romping glee towards the distant 
Gulf of Mexico. * * * # # The Wind 

Eiver Mountains, from whose flanks it pours, are looking down upon us seriously 
from the northwest. There is something sublime in being at a point among 
mountains, so far inland, from near which go forth to such widely distant mouths, 
three such large rivers as the Columbia, the Mississippi, and the Colorado. It is 
like being in the immediate scene where Nature is carrying on one of her grand- 
est operations. 

" We left the Pacific Springs at sunrise this morning, and by ten o'clock we 
were drinking your health in a cup of water from this fine stream. From Green 
Iiiver to this point the country seems like one huge swell, as of the sea, the as- 
cent and descent being very gradual and fornung an easy roadway. The road fgr 
a part of the distance to-day was stre^vn with cornelians ; but the country is the 
same dreary desert as ever. Does it not seem strange that such large rivers should 
head on a region so dry and barren. 

"The country, otherwse, is uninteresting ; it is a lifeless waste, glaring in bar- 
re'uness and aridity to an unpitying sky. The stunted sage bushes look like the 
stray poils of beard on a witch's chin, making the barrenness look doubly barren." 

(^Ford on Green River, 110, West Longitude.] 

" We encamped for two nights upon the Sweet Water, finding considerable 
grazing for our lean and hungry animals ; but finally, at about ten o'clock A. M., 
on the 25th, we crossed the dividing Une to the Pacific Spring, which flows away 
in a small, clear thread of water to find its way at last into the distant Gulf of 
California. As we looked back there was a ridge of high land which separated U3 
from our eastern homes." 

" The height above the sea at that point of the ridge over which the road leads is 
about 7, 500 feet, considerably over a mile, and yet so gradually had we attained 
this elevation that we never should have suspected ; and, indeed, we should never 
have kuo\vn that we were among mountains at all, were it not for the sno^vy sum- 
mits of the Wind Eiver Range, which rose immediately on our right ; for the 
abrupt rocky heights, which I mentioned to you in my last, we had left behind and 
out of sight. 

"And thus we came through what is called the South Pass. After a long, 
gradual ascent, we then commenced the descent, which is a little more rapid than 
the ascent, but still pretty gradual. And our road has been descending most of 
the way since, a distance of some sixty (60) miles, but through such barreimess 
and desolation as you could hardly conceive. The land is but a waste of sand, sparsely 
dotted -nith wild sage and grease wood, both small shrubs. Hardly a tree is any- 
where to be seen, and only once in a mile or two along the road." 



122 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

[Summit of the " South Pass," West Slope, one thousand miles 
from Fort Leavenworth.] 

"We are on a deeply furrowed stream, the Big Sandy, ■which winds through, 
without fertilizing, the soil. The rabbit, the sage hen, and the raven, or a large 
species of crow, are all the animals met with. Beliind us rose the Wind lliver 
Mountains, and how beautifully did they look one morning when the sun 
first shone upon them ! Their lofty summits, shrouded with clouds and snow, 
and yet lit up by the sun, gave forth a warm but benevolent smile, well befit- 
ting such a benefactor of mankind as poured from its flank : the three great 
streams, the Oregon, the Colorado, and the Missouri. Before us, as we advanced 
towards the north, arose the chain called the Uintah Mountains. Running east 
and west, they presented their northern slopes to us, and they were covered with 
far more snow than are the southern slopes of the Wind lliver liange, though the 
former are more than one hundred miles to the southward of the latter — the dif- 
ference arising from a difference in exposure — the one being to the north and 
the other to the south. 

" The solemn, serious beauty of the Uintah mountains, their summits covered 
with snow, standing like a vast hydrant pouring forth rivers of water, again 
arrest my gaze. 

"At length, at about 11 o'clock, A.M., to-day, we reached the verge of the right 
bank of Grreen lliver. Tlie valley through which it runs is pretty wide, and the 
enclosing banks are steep and precipitous. The view below burst upon us all at 
once ; and after such barrenness, how beautiful it appeared ! 

"There is a solemn joy in these mountains that lifts up the heart as in k temple 
of worship, where the M'inds and the streams are the music of the choir, and the 
hoar peak seems preaching holy Sabbath to the land." 



^^ 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MEXICAN WAR — KEARNY IN MEXICO. 

" In process of time, when your Western territories are perfectly settled from the Ohio 
to the Mississippi, which in time cannot fail to be perfected; and when your Western 
and Southern colonies become in population as numerous as the sands of the sea — 
then will the riches of Potosi attract the attention of the Americans to the conquest 
of Mexico and Peru. This is an object which, from the magnitude of its wealth, is 
certain in time to take place ; but as that cannot happen for at least fifty or an hun- 
dred years, I think, gentlemen, we should not postpone taking a part of the wealth 
of that country immediately ; therefore I freely offer my services to the Congress on 
such an expedition ; and on my honor, I will serve them as faithfully as I have my 
king and country, " for I am a soldier of fortune." So, taking the bottle, I filled a 
glass, and drank to an expedition against the Golden Spaniard. My toast was pro- 
ductive of much laughter, mirth, and good humor, together with many observations 
on the situation and wealth of the Spanish colonies so contiguous to them ; and I am 
inclined to believe, that at that time even the company did not think that the possession 
of the wealth of Mexico was quite so difiicult, or required so many years' application and 
study, as to arrive at the knowledgeof the Philosopher's stone."—" Life, Adventures, 
and Opinions'^ of and by Colonel Geobgb JIangek. London, 1801. 

Lieutenant Philip Kearny was too much of a real soldier to be 
able, after having tasted the excitement of actual service, to submit 
to the constraints, the indolence, and monotony of garrison life. 
After his return from Algiers he chafed under the restraints of in- 
activity for nearly five years, hoping all the time for something to 
occur which would give him new opportunities for distinction in 
active service. 

Notwithstanding war seemed imminent with the Mexican Confed- 
eration, in 1845, it was scarcely conceivable that a power like 
Mexico, which had been utterly foiled in its invasion of Texas, in 
1835-'6, which had sufiered a miniature Waterloo at San Jacinto, 
21st April, 1836, at the hands of a thousand undisciplined frontiers- 
men, would dare to rush into a war with Ruch a gigantic power as 
the United States, upon a mere question of national honor — ^for the 
possession of Texas had become a mere question of honor. 

Whether from the same reasons which actuated Worth, or be- 
cause his promotion had not corresponded with his hopes or merit, 
or from the persuasion that his services were undervalued, Kearni 

133 



124 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

on the 2d April, 1846, tendered Lis resignation, which was accepted 
as of the 6th of that month. Had he dreamed that a war was upon 
us, he woukl never have done so. 

No sooner, however, had the clash of arms resounded fi'om the 
Rio Grande, and the national banner been unfurled amidst the 
blaze of battle, than Kearny, like Worth, sought to recall his 
resignation, and applied to the government to be restored to his 
former rank and position. 

On the recommendation of Major-General Scott, Commander-in- 
Chief, and Brevet Brigadier-General Roger Jones, Adjutant-Gene- 
ral U. S. Army, he was reinstated in the army on the ] 5th April, 
1846. It was not until the 9th July, that he was enabled to join 
his regiment, having been employed in the meantime in recruiting 
his company up to the war-footing. He was determined that it 
should be a model troop in every resjject, not only in men, but in 
horses, and he repaired to the West, where he knew he could find 
such material as he wanted — material which he had seen put to the 
test of a march of two thousand three hundred miles, and come out 
of the trial first proof With a liberality which distinguished 
every prominent action of his life, he determined to augment the 
government bounty out of his own private purse, in order to obtain 
not only first-class men, but first-class animals. His principal re- 
cruiting ground was Illinois, and at the State Capital, Springfield, 
he fell in by accident with a resident lawyer, who was looked upon 
as a rather eccentric, but earnestly patriotic man, by name Abraham 
Lincoln, who was touched by the enthusiasm of the young di-agoon 
officer, and zealously assisted him in carrying out his plans. This 
eccentric man, as he was styled, was afterwards, " Honest Abe," 
President of the United States, and the Lieutenant Kearny, whom 
he assisted in raising that model company of di'agoons, was ins 
appointment as a Brigadier-General, one whom he always styled 
" HIS GENERAL ;" One whom he destined for the highest command, 
when an untimely shot put an end to the life of the man of his 
choice, as unexpectedly as the shot of the assassin, Booth, put an 
end to his own, so precious to his country. 

When Kearny reached New Orleans, on his way to Mexico, the 
appearance of his command attracted the attention of the whole city, 
who were in a condition to judge of the relative value of troops, 
since the majority of those destined to earn such distinction in 
Mexico, passed through the streets of the "Crescent City." 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 125 

The New Orleans Tropic devoted quite a space in its columns 
to Kearny and his dragoons, fi-om which the following is an extract. 
The rest of the article is even more complimentary, but needs no 
quotation here, as it is altogether personal and refers to events in 
the life of Keauny, with which the reader is akeady acquainted. 

" Lieutenant Philip Kearny, nephew of General Stephen Watts 
Kearny, arrived here day before yesterday with as fine a company of 
cavalry as was ever seen in Xew Orleans ; the horses, ninety in 
number, are all greys, and beautiful in the extreme. The men are 
picked and noble-looking fellows. The trappings of the horses and 
the accoutrements of the liders are all that the most fastidious com- 
mander could wish." 

Kearny was not despatched into Mexican territory until October, 
1846, when the fighting for the year was over. 

His first service was along the Rio Grande, where he did not come 
in contact with the enemy. What struck him most, while in the 
neighborhood of Camargo — and he often referred to it as some- 
thing marvelous: — was the vast extent of the bm'ial-grounds cFevoted 
to the interment of the American soldiers. Plis investigations led 
him to believe that the same influence which produced such fatal 
effects in the French army ui Africa, was the cause of the mor- 
tality among our troops — that is, nostalgia, or home-sickness, which 
was attributable, however, to a different origin. French soldiers, as 
a general thing, have few ties which bmd them to their homes, and 
it is rather the deprivation of those gay distractions and familiar 
scenes that brings on, in Africa, where there is scarcely any allevia- 
tion of then- labors and sufferings, that awful depression of spirits 
which proves so fital to life. In the case of our Western volunteers, 
who were mostly men of fomily, and accustomed to comforts of which 
an European soldier would never di-eam, it was actualy home-sick- 
ness. This moral miasma took a strong hold upon our Western 
volunteers, and populated vast cities of the dead, similar to those 
around Medeah and Milianah, which have attracted the attention of 
otherts besides Kearny, who have campaigned in the Atlas. This 
nostalgia seemed to exercise comparatively no effect upon the 
regulars. 

Kearny, with his company, did not join Taylor until after the 
capture of Monterey, and the advance of the army of occupation to 
Saltillo. 

Major-General Scott having completed his plan of operations, 



126 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

based upon the capture of Vera Cruz, and the advance from that 
port directly upon the Mexican capital, a large portion of the troops 
under General Taylor were withdi-aAvn from the line of the Rio 
Grande and marched to the coast, to be embarked for the new point 
. of concentration. 

The general public, who have not participated in military opera 
tions, suppose that it is a light task to follow and relate the every 
day action of an officer and make it interesting. To furnish a mere 
diary would be easy, but suoh a narrative would be almost devoid 
of interest. The soldier and line-officer are almost indistinguisha- 
ble parts of a grand machine, from which the killed and wounded 
fall off like chips or filings, unnoticed, except by those Avho are 
immediately interested in each individual. An able General cora- 
jaared those who fell to the parings of a man's nails, so little were 
they missed, and of so little account were they among the casualties 
of a great army and a protracted compaign. It is only when fortune 
accords to a man the opportunity to achieve a deed of high emprise 
that the historian can linger upon the picture, and make him a 
prominent object in the vast and crowded panorama of a war. We 
shall see Keauny enjoying one of the fortunate occasions, and pro- 
fiting by the opportunity to its utmost extent. Meanwhile, it is all 
sufficient to say that in the ordinary routine of duty, he did his 
share of it thoroughly, and in every position and on every occasion 
won the approbation, as he had always enjoyed the respect, of his 
superiors, as well as of his comrades. 

On Taylor's line of operations Kearny had no chance to shine, 
but he was neither unnoticed nor forgotten. In the latter part of 
November, -when Scott determined to withdraw aboxit five thous- 
and troops from Taylor, his first selection was couched in the fol- 
lowing words : 

"You will * * put in movement for the mouth of the 
Rio Grande the following troops : 

About five hundred regular cavalry of the First and Second Regi- 
ments of Dragoons, including Lieutenant Kearny's troop." 

■-:- .- :;= ^r- :!< * * ^ :); :{; 

These four words from such a man as Scott were in themselves 
no small meed of praise. The very fact that Scott thus designated 
him by name was a high encomium. Such a man and such a troop 
he wanted for himself Kearny had previously served under his 
immediate eye. He knew the young soldier thoroughly ; knew 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY: 127 

that in him he had a weapon of approved temper, appropriate for a 
crisis, and in his troop a select body of soldiers, for, disciplined by 
Keaunv and inspired by his example, they could not be otherwise 
than good soldiers. 

" Including Lieutenant Ke.venv's troop /" fom* words, but signi- 
ficant as an oration. We shall see that whenever Scott did let them 
loose they did then* duty better than well — that when Kearny was 
left to himself, the young Captain wi'eathed his brow with laurels 
as immortal as those due to the conquest of a country by ten thous- 
and men, which has elevated Scott to the first rank as a General — 
a conquest which will be remembered in the military history of our 
country as one of its marvels, when subsequent battles, attended 
by a slaughter of as inany men as constituted the whole force under 
WiNFiELD Scott's command, are unnoticed or forgotten. Kesults 
dignify actions. In Em-ope, Scott would have been overwhelmed 
with dignities and rewards, whereas he was rej^aid for an achieve- 
ment, which added new lustre to our national escutcheon, with an 
ingratitude which disgraced a Democratic administration in the 
eyes of the whole world. 

Before his connection was severed with the "army of occupation," 
Kearny was entrusted with a duty which very nearly cut short 
his career and nearly added his name to the Hst of victims of the 
assassin tactics of the Mexicans. 

About the 11th January, 1847, Lieutenant John A. Richey, 
Fifth United States Infantry, bearer of despatches for General 
Taylor, started from Saltillo towards Victoria. Having passed 
through Monterey, he arrived, the 13th January, at the small town 
of Villa Gran. Here he separated himself from his escort — con- 
sisting of ten Dragoons — and entered the town for the purpose of 
purchasing provisions. Alone and unsuspicious of danger, he was 
lassoed and murdered under the most atrocious and cowardly cir- 
cumstances. The despatches which he bore were taken from his 
person and at once transmitted to Santa Anna. From the infor- 
mation derived from these, the Mexican commander-in-chief became 
possessed of Scott's plans, and learned to what an extent Taixor's 
army had been depleted to complete that collecting on a new line 
under General Scott. The result was, he struck at Taylor. 
Thus, had it iiot been for the murder of Richey, the battle of Buena 
Vista — on which it might be said the subsequent operations of the 
whole Mexican war pivoted or depended — would never have been 



128 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

fought. Buena Vista was one of the decisive battles of the world, 
as events tui'ned out, for in many respects it was the battle of the 
Mexican war which gave us auriferous California, and determined 
the whole future of this continent. 

The reader may ask what has this to do with Kearny ? This 
much : he narrowly escaped at this time the fate which befell the 
unfortunate Richey ; and had a similar and imj^ending cast of the 
lasso encircled his throat Avith the same successful aim, there would 
have been an end of this biography and of one destined to fill a 
prominent place in the gallery of American Generals, Patriots, and 
Heroes. 

On his arrival at Vera Cruz, the splendid condition of Kearny's 
company — he was promoted to a Captaincy in December, 1846 — 
coupled with the fact that its commander had formerly been his 
aid-de-camp, induced the general-in-chief to constitute it his 
body-guard. This connection Avith headquarters prevented Kearny 
from participating in any of the cavalry engagements which occur- 
red between our Dragoons and the Mexican horse, which attempted 
to harass our army and hinder the progress of the siege. 

When the city surrendered, Kearny escorted his victorious chief 
on his triumplial entry, and he used to dwell with exultation on the 
superb appearance of his men and horses in that ovation, 
due to the scientific generalship of Scott. He said that his men 
felt as much pride in the matter as himself, and were up the greater 
part of the previous night fiu-bishing their arms and accoutrements 
and cleaning their horses, so that the latter " shone like glass bot- 
tles " when paraded the next morning. Kearny was always 
exceedingly partial to iron greys, and no horses in the world look 
better than those of this color when in high condition and properly 
groomed. 

On the advance from Vera Cruz, Kearny was always with Gen- 
eral Scott, and saw little or no fighting. That he profited by the 
lessons in strategy taught by that superlative commander, at the 
exjDcnse of the enemy, the future proved. Napoleon held Turenne 
in the highest esteem as a finished general, and this camjDaign was 
carried on in the highest style of Turen-ne. After the battle of 
Cerro Gordo he was detached in pursuit, and it was reported at 
the time that he came near captm-ing Santa Anna. 

The writer recollects perfectly Kearny's account of one chase 
and its incidents ; but it may have occurred on one or another 




BREVET MAJOR PHILIP KEARNY, 

Captain 1st U. S. Dragoons, Mexico, 1847. 

From portrait in possession of Autlior. 



J 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 129 

occasion (at Tepeahualco? or after Puebla), when Keajrny was 
sent out with a flag of truce in order to try and open communica- 
tions with the defeated army. 

The following letter from an officer, an eye-witness of the inci- 
dent, a friend of Kearny, refers to the pm'suit after Cerro Gordo, 
which occurred about this time. It also alludes to an interesting 
fact, which has been related, to show that Kearny, like a great 
■many other soldiers of his stamj^, was, to a certain extent, a fatalist, 
and put implicit faith in his star : 

"In Mexico he (Kearny) commanded a comjjany of horse of the 
First Dragoons, which accompanied General Scott's movements in 
his march from Vera XIruz to the Capital. At the battle of Cerro 
Gordo he followed up in advance the pursuit of the retreating 
enemy. I remember seeing him in full career after them. His 
horses were all white (grey), and showed that they had received 
the care and attention for which the First Dragoons, his uncle's 
regiment, were honorably distinguished ; but for the want of proper 
forage in the barren strip of tierra caliente thi'ough which the 
army had beon marching and operating for several days, they had 
become very much reduced in condition ; and consequently, in the 
rapidity of the ptu'suit, not a few of them tufnbled down headlong 
upon the road, never to rise again. It was a sad sight to see ani- 
mals dying in that way in those days, but the service during the 
late war got quite beyond these scruples, whole squadrons of horse 
being wasted with as much dash and recklessness as though the de- 
struction of property were a gi'eat merit. 

" The next incident that I remember in the career of General, 
then CajDtain Ke^vrny, occmTcd among a party of officers at a hotel 
in Puebla. These officers were dining together a short time pre- 
vious to the continuance of the march of the American army upon 
the city of Mexico ; and the conversation turned upon the approach- 
ing conflict. Captain Kearny spoke with a great deal of feeling, 
with an earnest unafiected thirst for gk)ry, and said he would give 
his left arm for a brevet. The army moved not long afterwards, 
and in the very first day's battles in the valley of Mexico, Captain 
Kearny pursued the routed enemy again, up to the very gates of 
the city, and there lost his left arm, by a shot fi-om the enemy 
within the walls. It is needless to add, that he received a brevet. 

" My i^en has dwelt thus long upon the theme, because of the 
particular pleasure which I have derived from the intercourse Avhich 



130 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

I have happened to have with him. Take him altogether, I have 
seldom met with a more agi'eeable gentleman, or a more chivalric 
soldier." 

It is said that Keaent remarked, before he went to Mexico, that he 
felt sure that he would not lose his life, that he would return alive, 
but that he felt equally assured that he would lose his left arm. 
Napoleon had implicit faith in his star, and actually pointed out, on 
more than one occasion, the very star which, according to his- 
belief, presided over his destiny. Presentiments are very common 
among military men, and a great many instances are related in 
which they are known to have come true, v/ithout affecting theu' 
condact, however. Desaix is a cm'ious instance of this. When 
he joined the army of Italy, in 1800, on his retm'n from Egypt, he 
remarked that he was afraid the bullets in Europe would not know 
him again, and he fell at Marengo, a few days subsequently, the 
very first battle in which he was engaged and almost immediately 
after he came under fire. 

In the advance from Jalapa, Kearny had few opportunities of 
displaying his superior soldiership, but it was only from lack of 
opportunity. As a common friend recently remarked of him : — 
"High soldiership, as in his case, exhibited itself often, in attention 
to a multitude of minute details, which inspire confidence and tell 
in the hour of action. This enabled him with his troops to pene- 
trate to the very gates of the city of Mexico, where he lost his arm. 
While the army lay in Puebla he performed several daring recon- 
noissances, by which he procm-ed much valuable information ; but, 
as the enemy avoided combats, there was no special oj)portunity to 
add to his lam-els." 

Shortly after the dinner alluded to, at wdiich Kearny expressed 
his willingness to purchase a brevet at the price of the very arm he 
actually expended in obtaining one, he was entrusted with a mis- 
sion of some danger and importance, over whose remembrance he 
was accustomed to laugh heartily when he recalled the details of 
the " Run." 

While om- army was at Puebla drilling and organizing into that 
irresistible machine which, like the beast "with great iron teeth'' 
in thd vision of Danhel, " brake in pieces," and trampled in the 
bloody mire every antagonistic armament, Scott, on the 11th July, 
1847, resolved to take some action in behalf of the American pris- 
oners held by the Mexican authorities. These were Majors Gaines 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 131 

and BoKLAND, Captain Cassius M. Clat, and their associates, cap- 
tui'ed at Incarnacion, near Buena Vista, in the preceding January, 
likewise passed midshipman Rogers, taken in December, 1846, 
near Vera Cruz, and since then imprisoned as a spy. 

To Captain Philip Kearky was entrusted the proposals for an 
exchange, and he was sent forward with two companies of dragoons, 
under a flag of truce, to endeavor to communicate with the Mexican 
military authorities. 

At seven a. m., 12th July, Kearnt started out, accompanied by 
the Semmes who afterwards became a traitor to his flag, and made 
his name notorious as a burner of merchantmen, until his career in 
the Alabama was closed by the destruction of that Corsair by the 
Kearsage, commanded by the glorious Winslow. 

Kearnt expected at this time to be able to continue on, and enter 
the city of Mexico, and trotted on rapidly, filled with the glad hopes 
of carrying good news to his imprisoned countrymen, while enjoy- 
ing the glorious scenery, for which the journey to the Aztec Capi- 
tal is almost without a rival. As he proceeded, to his right soared 
the Malinche, " the storm-gatherer of Puebla," whose rugged peak 
served as a barometer to the inhabitants of that city, and, beneath 
it, stretched away the plains of Tlascala, while to his left the pictur- 
esque pyi-amid of Cholula stood out against the clear blue sky ; 
while over all towered the eternal snow-crowns of Popocatapetl 
and Iztaccihuatl, which look down, at the same time, into both the 
valleys of Puebla and Mexico. 

What thoughts must have passed through the " Knightly" mind 
of Kearny, thus pressing onward in the track of Cortes. 

Ten miles from Puebla, the Black River {JRlo Prieto) was crossed, 
an'd as much farther dn again the di-agoons dashed into the village 
or town of San Martin. As they approached this small but popu- 
lous place, there was an awful stir, and forth fluttered a body of 
Mexican Lancers about equal in number to the American detachment, 
who " vamosed the ranch " in such a hm-ry as to leave behind their 
baggage, and even some of their party, who broke ofl" and took to 
the bushes. Among these were Canalizo's son, a Lieutenant- 
Colonel of cavalry, and two or three of his men. The youth was 
eventually looked up by two of his papa's aids, subsequent to the 
termination of the chase, and conducted back in safety to the pa- 
rental wing. These aids, with half a dozen blanketed lanceros, 
retm-ned, under escort of Keara-y's di-agoons, to San Martin, to 



132 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

recover their general's baggage and to hunt around for the missing 
youngster. 

Away went the Mexicans, consisting of about seventy lancers, 
led by Generals C an alizo (formerly President ad interim of Mexico) 
and PoRTiLLO (who had disgraced himself by his prominent action 
in the Fanning massacre (Fannin!) in Texas in March 1836. The 
Mexicans left in such haste, and spm'red so furiously, that Kearnt 
described the road over which they traveled as resembling one on 
which a flurry of early wet snow had fallen, so whitened was it with 
the froth flakes which fell from the horses, m-ged to the uttermost 
by the merciless Spanish spur. 

As Kearny did not care if the chase lasted to the gates of the 
capital, as that was his objective, he held in after he found that fear 
had lent wings to the enemy, and contented himself with keeping 
them in sight. It was Ainsworth's Dick Turpin's ride to York 
over again in the plm'al. Kearny caught a glimpse of them at the 
Puente (bridge) de Tezmolucan, eleven miles from San Martin ; and 
at Pio Frio, about eleven further on — making forty miles accom- 
plished since mounting — came in full siglit of the two generals 
pursued, then winding away up the heights beyond the Cold River 
(Hio Frio). By this time the Mexicans had somewhat recovered 
their senses, or felt that their horses had the heels of the pursuers 
for they halted, as if to investigate the white flag conspicuously dis- 
played ; then, seemingly, not liking the apjDearance of the escort, 
resumed their flight. This inspection, through glasses, doubtless, 
was repeated several times, till discretion seemed the better part of 
valor, and away they went, as if convinced of the truth of the old 
saying, "the devil (American) take the hindermost" if he can 
catch him. As Kearny's men had been in the saddle for ten hours, . 
and all chances of overhauling the red pennons had passed away, 
the Captain halted at an inn at the bridge across the Rio Frio, and 
sent forward a Mexican on a fresh horse to catch the fugitives. 

In an hour or two this native intermediary retm-ned, accompanied 
by an aid of General Portillo, who protested against Kearny's 
further advance, but entered into an arrangement, in behalf of his 
superior, for a meeting on the following morning, when Kearny 
was to ride forward, accompanied by Sejijies, as an improvised aid, 
and five dragoons. So, amid good cheer and much merriment, 
evoked by the rapid "change of base" efiected by the Aztec chiefs, 
the night passed very pleasantly, clouded by only one di-awback, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 133 

that the protest of the Mexican officer precluded a glimpse of the 
Valley of Mexico, which, in all its glorious beauty, was visible from 
a range not more than ten or eleven miles beyond then- place of 
repose. 

The next morning, 13th July, KexVkny, with Semjies, the latter's 
servant, and one di-agoon to carry the white flag, rode forward to 
meet General Poktillo, who was encountered just beyond the Hill 
of Sleep, ( Cuesta del Sueno) with five lancers, Avho, -with his two 
aids, made his party eight, when seven was the stipulated number. 
PoRTiLLO — ^like Louis XI. of France at his interview with Edward 
IV. of England, on the Bridge of Picquigny, across the Sorame, 
29th August, 1478 — had no idea of giving his adversaries a chance 
of " gobbling " him, if a little addition of force could prevent it, 
even though contra mores. Portillo, after mutual salutes and 
es^jlanations, refused permission for Kearny either to continue on to 
Mexico, or even to proceed any farther, although the glorious vision 
of the basin of the capital could be witnessed from a crest only seven 
or eight miles in advance. He feelingly reproved Kearny for the 
" unchivalric " manner in which the latter had hunted him out of 
his comfortable quarters in San Martin, and gently protested against 
such an obliviousness of the amenities of war, then kindly offered 
to take charge of the despatches of which Kearny was the bearer. 
As there was nothing else to be done, this was agreed to, and 
Kearny, not to be outdone in politeness, escorted the general as 
far as Portillo would permit him : half-way back to his detach- 
ment, whom, it appeared, had been originally left or stationed in 
San Martin as a picket of observation to watch the movements of 
General Scott and his troops, or more likely to collect the reports 
of spies in Puebla and forward them to Santa Anna. 

Kearny described Portillo as Sejimes does in his " Service 
Afloat and Ashore" only somewhat more mirthfully, or less re- 
spectfully. Semmes says, " he was a good-looking man, rather 
stout (it is to be feared dashing Phil rendered this ' punchy'), of 
about fifty years of age, and quite dignified and gentlemanlike in 
his manners." The effect of the latter part of this description is 
marred by the additional remarks that the stout and genteel general 
'■' not being well dressed," "being mounted on a small pony," hav- 
ing " a somewhat villainous expression of countenance," — which, 
adds Semmes, " I did not wonder at so much when I was informed 
by our guide that he had been a prominent actor in the massacre of 



134 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Fannin") — disadvantages which must have required an awful 
amount of dignity to compensate for them, and Kearny's recollec- 
tions of PoRTiLLO, if memory serves, were very much al^in to Mr. 
Pickwick's idea of bulky Mr. Tupman's putting " himself into a 
green velvet jacket with a two-inch tail " to attend Mrs. Leo Hun- 
ter's fancy ball. Indeed the meeting of Kearny, on his sixteen 
hand horse, (he always rode a very large horse, and Sejimes was 
mounted on an elephantine animal,) and Portillo, on his pony, re- 
calls that of Charles the Bold, on his noble charger, with Locis 
XL, on his little ambling palfrey, when the efiect was almost 
gi'otesque. The reader who does not recognize the simile cannot 
hr^ve read "Quentin Durward," by Sir Walter Scott. If he has 
not, he will thank this allusion if it leads to a perusal of that chai-m- 
ing novel. 

Thus Kearny just came short of being the first of om* gallant 
*' Boys in Blue," to visit pacifically, but " m arms and under banner," 
the Mexican Capital, into whose gate he was destined to cut his way 
only four weeks later (20th August), as a conqueror, inside of 
which his comrade, Major Mills, was actually killed. 

No reader, however intelligent, can comprehend military opera- 
tions without good maps. Even with good maps it is difiicult to 
comprehend details without some acquaintance with tactics and 
terms. Consequently, there is no attempt made in this chapter to 
follow the movements of the army, and readers JU'e refeiTcd to 
Mansfield's generalized and Ripley's detailed but partial^ or pre- 
judiced, " History of the Mexican War ;" likewise Sojqies " Ser- 
vice Afloat and Ashore," very interesting and instructi\'«, as well 
as other worLs, not so accessible, but worthy of examinalion as the 
records of a conquest as memorable as that of Cortez. 

When Scott had abandoned the idea of making a direcfe attack 
on Mexico from the east, and accomplished his remarkable move- 
ment, /auo/^ef? Z»y Providence, the direction of his rcBewed ' opera- 
tions was from the south. Two battles Avere fought on this lia© 
prior to the Tacubuja Armistice. . The first at Contreras, August 
19tkand 20th ; the second at Churubusco, August 20th,. 1847. 

Between these two villages, to the west and nortb, about nuae 
miles apart by the road and the villages of San Antofoio and San 
Augusiin Hapan — the latter about six miles east of Contreras — Ia;y 
fche volcanic region called the "Pedi'egal." 

Tills Pedi'egal was tiu'^wn up in shai*p rocks and braken pieces. 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 135 

m 
in such a manner that the Mexican officers supposed it to be im- 
passable. 

" South of the Capital the great thoroughfare is the Acapulco 
road, which enters the city along the causeway and at the Garita of 
the San Antonio. A line of entrenchments had been commenced, 
connecting the fortified hacienda of San Antonio, six miles south 
of the city, with the position of the Mexicalcingo. From the im- 
mediate vicinity of the hacienda, the Pedregal extended west to 
the mountains. The Pedi-egal was an obstacle of no ordinary 
nature to militaiy operations. A vast field of lava, intersj^ersed 
with a few patches of arable land, it was practicable for the passage 
of any troops at but few points, and entirely impracticable for cav- 
alry or artillery, except by a single mule-path." 

This lava field was rent by chasms, which intersected it with 
their rifts in such a manner that to worm a way across it, even in 
the day time,, was a work of time, difficulty, and peril ; and yet it was 
absolutely necessary to reconnoitre it, as it lay between the wings, 
or grand divisions, of the army. The credit of this difficult opera- 
tion lias always been given to the arch-rebel Lee, when an officer of 
the United States Engineers, and he is said to have been the only 
officer who made his way across the Pedregal ; but the writer under- 
stood at the time that Kearny was the one who first ti'aversed this 
extrejtnely difficult and perilous track on horseback, and Avas the 
first thus to link the combinations of our separated divisions 
through the information which he carried across. Kearny, on his 
return from Mexico, dwelt upon this exploit as one of the most 
difficiJt he had ^ver achieved. Kearny, if not the first, was certainly 
one of th^e first who succeeded in doing so.. It was wonderful 
how he succeeded in accomplishing the feat, as he made his way 
over at night-^moonlight, however, it is true — leaping his horse 
over the clefts, which nobody but a fearless rider like himself would 
ever have dreamed of attempting. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE GARITA SAN AKTONIO. 

'THE CHARGE OF THE 'ONE' HUNDRED." 

'» Half a league, half a league, 

Half a league onward, 
All in the Valley of Death 

Rode the ' one ' hundred. 
•Charge,' was the captain's cry; 

Theirs not to reason why, 
Theirs not to make reply, 

Theirs but to do and die. 
Into the Valley of Death 

Rode the ' one ' hundred. 



" Cannon to right of them. 

Cannon to loft of them. 
Cannon 'before' them 

Volley'd and thundered ; 
Stormed at with shot and shell. 

They that had struck so well, 
Rode thro' the jaws of Death, 

Half a league back again, 
Up from the mouth of Hell, 

All that was left of them, 
Left of 'one' hundred. 

"Honor the brave and bold 1 
Long shall the tale be told, 
Tea, when our babes are old- 
How they rode onward." 



■ Tenktson. 



"While Clavebhousb, who, like a hawk perched on a rock and eyeing the time to 
Bounce on its prey, had watched the event of the action from the opposite bank, now 
passed the bridge at the head of his cavalry at full trot, and, leading them in squadrons 
throu-h the intervals and round the flanks of the Royal infantry, formed them on the 
moor,°and led them to the charge, * * * their broken spirits and dis- 

heartened coura-e were unable to endure the charge of the cavalry, attended with all Us 
terrible accompaniments of sight and sound ;-the rush of the horses at full speed, the 
shaking of the earth under their feet, the glancing of the swords, and waving of tho 
plumes and the fierce shouts of the cavaliers. The front ranks hardly attempted one ill- 
directed and disorderly fire, and their rear was broken and flying in confusion ere the 
(itiarge had been completed ; and in less than five minutes the horsemen were mixed with 



136 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 137 

them, cutttng and hewing without mercy. * * * Their swords drank 

deep of slaughter among the unresisting fugitives. Screams for quarter were only 
answered by the shouts with which the pursuers accompanied their blows, and the whole 
field p'resented one general scene of confused slaughter, flight, and pursuit." 

Scott's '■'■Old Mortality." 

" The eagle eye of Cortes lighted up with triumph. Turning quickly around to the 
cavaliers at his side, among whom were Sandoval, Olid, Alvahado, and Avila, he 
pointed out the chief, exclaiming : ' There is our mark ! Follow and support me !' Then 
crying his war-cry, and striking his iron heel into his weary steed, he plunged headlong 
into the thickest of the press. His enemies fell back, taken by surprise, and daunted by 
the ferocity of the attack. Those who did not were pierced through with his lance, or 
borne down by the weight of his charger. The cavaliers followed close in the rear. On 
they swept with the fury of a thunderbolt, cleaving the solid ranks asunder, strewing 
their path with the dying and the dead, and bounding over every obstacle in the way." 
* * * " The guard, overpowered by the suddenness of the onset, made 

little resistance, but, flying, communicated their own panic to their comrades. The tid- 
ings of the loss soon spread over the field. The Indians, filled with consternation, now 
thought only of escape. In their blind terror, their numbers augmented their confusion. 
They trampled on one another, fancying it was the enemy in their rear." 

Peescott's " Conquest of Mexico." 



KEARNY S CHARGE. 

HoAYEVER honorable and pleasant a position it may be to command 
the body-guard at headquarters, in the society of men 23re-eminent 
in abihty and position, it is not the place for a young officer to win 
fame. In foreign countries and in royalties — where favors dro20 into 
hands not entitled to receive them, to the prejudice of those who 
have borne the bm*then and heat of the day, who have deserved 
and not obtained — a post around headquarters, is a capital place 
to get a decoration or an advance step in rank. Unfortunately, it is 
too much so in this country, but not in anything to the same degree 
as abroad, since the army at large see clearly and judge honestly, 
and only acknowledge that soldiership as of the true ring and 
genuine stamp which has undergone the baptism of blood and the 
purification of the fire of battle. The reputation which is sought 
at the cannon's mouth is the true glory of the soldier. Keaent 
knew this. He had yearned to shine in his proper sphere, the 
front of battle. The man who could offer his left arm as the price 
of a brevet, as he had done among his fellow-ofllcers at Puebla, 
was the man to court danger as a coy mistress. Like Korner, 
when he indited that " Sword Song," which Avill live forever, he 
must have often toyed with the " u'on bride" which hung at his 
thigh, and prayed to see her shming face blush with the blood of the 
enemy. 



138 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" Thou sword at my left side, 
What means thy flash of pride ? 
Thou smilest so on me, 
I take delight in thee, 
Hurrah I 

" The clanging trumps betray 
The blushing bridal day ; 

When cannons far and wide 
Shall roar, I'll fetch my bride. 
Hurrah ! 

" Yes, in my sheath I clash ; 
I long to gleam and flash 

In battle, ■wild and proud, 
'Tis why I clash so loud. 
Hurrah !" 

Throughout the advance from Vera Craz to this moment, when 
his ardent wishes were to be gratified, his heart must have leaped 
whenever the signal to charge was blown and beaten, with the 
strong desii-e to answer it with the spur and the appropriate order. 

On the 18th August, a_ recounoissance was made by four of the 
engineer corps — three of whom afterwards became notorious rebel 
generals — with a support of cavalry and infantry. An engagement 
or skmnish ensued, in which Khakny distinguished himself, and 
enabled the engineers to perform then* duties with success and 
results. This service was of sufficient consequence to deserve a 
special mention in Scott's official report. 

It is sm-prising how UTesponsive to the deeds of om' own soldiers 
are the lyres of our poets. The world has read with admu-ation 
the " Charge of the Six Hundi-ed " at Balaklava ; but how few 
would have ever heard of that feat of " derring do " had it not been 
sung by the poet laureate of England. And yet the charge of Cap- 
tain Philip Kearxy, at the battle of Churubusco, was as wortJiy 
the genius of Tenntson as the charge of the Light Brigade " into 
the jaws of death" in that Crimean valley, with three armies as 
spectators. 

To appreciate the marvel of dash and bravery, it is necessary to 
undei'stand the theatre in which it was displayed. Our little army 
less than nine thousand men all told — it has been set down at six 
thousand fighting men, as the Rebels counted then- forces — small 
indeed in its numbers in comparison to the magnitude of its 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 139 

exploits, but great indeed in the successes it achieved — awoke 
from their bivouacs on the morning of the 20th August, 1847 
with the assurance of victory ; that whatever then* General willed 
them to do, would grandly by them be done. 

In front of them, in the heart of the enemy's country, occupying 
the village of Chm-ubusco, and in a chain of fortified positions 
— strong in the natural dispositions of the gi-ound, still stronger in 
the art witli which it had been fortified, and even stonger yet in 
the outnumbering forces — were disposed twenty-seven thousand to 
thu'ty thousand Mexican troops, backed by the population of the 
city of Mexico, who could tm-n out, if they willed, fifty thousand 
males capable of bearing arms. These forces, outnumbering ours 
four to one, or at least three to one, held the village, of solid con- 
struction ; and scattered buildings of stone, along then* line of battle 
lined the dykes, and almost impervious hedges of " thorny maguey 
or cactus Im'ked in the extensive plantations of tall maize, and filled 
the field-works with then- small arms and artillery. The flat land 
was broken and difficult, and rendered more so by the enclosm'es, 
morasses, and canals or ditches which covered it with a net- 
work of obstacles. 

" The ground on which the troops operated " — is the language of 
the gallant WorvTii — " off" the high-road, is remarkably intersected ; 
loose soil, growing grain, and, at brief Intervals, deep ditches, for 
the pui-pose of di'ainage and irrigation. These ditches vary from 
six to eight feet in depth, about the same in width, with from three 
to four feet of water — the reverse banks lined with the enemy's 
light troops. 

" When I recm* to the nature of the ground, and the fact that the 
division (two thousand six hundred strong, of all arms) was engaged 
from two to two and a half hom-s in a hand-to-hand conflict with 
from seven thousand to nine thousand of the enemy, having the 
advantage of position, and occupying regular works — which our 
engineers will say were most skillfully constructed — the mind is 
filled with wonder and the heart with gratitude to the brave officers 
and soldiers whose steady and indomitable valor has, under such 
cii'cumstances, aided in achieving results so honorable to our coun- 
try — results not accorapUshed, however, without the sacrifice of 
many valuable lives." 

Thi-ough this ground, and the Mexican line-of-battle, ran several 
causeways. One of these "passed through the village of Chm-ubusco. 



140 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

All of these united with the causeway of San Antonio, which 
bisected the field-of-battle in a direct line, almost north and soiith, 
and terminated five and a half miles distant in the Grand Plaza of 
Mexico, upon which front the National Palace and Cathedral. At 
the junction referred to, and the apex of the right and acute angled- 
ti-iangles formed by them, was the bastioned bridge-head ( Tete de 
I*ont) on the Churubusco River. This was held by a strong gar- 
rison with three pieces of heavy artillery. 

It has been the fashion to decry the Mexicans as soldiers, although 
the Spaniards and French found them foes which proved worthy of 
then- steel. Like the Turks, and their cognates, the Ai-abs, Kabyles, 
and Moors, every people of Spanish blood have proved themselves 
most tenacious in the defense of fortifications and walled towns — 
witness Sarragossa. 

This the French experienced before Puebla in 1863, and the cap- 
ture of this city was considered of sufficient importance to justify 
the elevation of General Fokey, its captor, to the dignity of 
Marshal. 

The Mexican engineers understood their business thoroughly, 
and it is admitted that the works which they threw up for the 
defense of their capital were of exceeding strength, and " admh-a- 
ble both in then* construction and locality." The bridge-head was 
a beautiful work, solidly and scientifically constructed, with wet 
ditches and embrasures and platforms for a large armament. More- 
over, it was flanked by a massive stone church or convent, sm- 
rounded by strong field-works mounted with heavy guns. 

Previous to the battle of Churubusco, Captain Keaeny could 
restrain himself no longer, and had requested permission to partici- 
pate in the impending action. This was granted, and with his 
command. Company F, Fu'st United States Dragoons, was detached 
for general service, and he was attached to the division of General 
Pru-ow. He was now watching the com'se of events, and, like 
Dbkdee at " Bothwell Brig," biding his time and opportunity. 

Meanwhile the roar of Mexican musketry — " more than twenty 
thousand muskets were continually discharged with a rapidity which 
showed the stern determination of the enemy " — " was the gi-eatest 
noise of all the din of battle; it was continued and terrific, di'own- 
ing the noise of the artillery, the shouts of the combatants, and the 
groans of the wounded." 

Despite the severity of such a fire, and the. fearful play of the 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 141 

artillery, our troops forced theii' way across the river. At the earae 
time a vigorous assault was made upon the bridge-head. The gar- 
rison, so to speak, finding their position turned and in danger of 
being taken in reverse, thus cutting off then* retreat, slackened the 
" paj'ticularly spiteful " fire to which Ripley feelingly alludes, and 
after a short conflict, abandoned the work, and fled over the bridge 
in the rear towards the city. 

Previous to this time Keaknt had been able to effect nothing. 
He had accompanied Pillow in his advance from Coyacan, a vil- 
lage farther to the east or left on the Rio (River) Chm-ubusco. He 
had experienced a " great difiiculty" in getting his horses across the 
broken country, partially inundated, and the deep and intervening 
ditches, to the causeway, but had succeeded in doing so. There he 
was joined by a troop of the Thu'd Dragoons, commanded by Cvrp- 
tain A. T. McReynolds. During the course of the action, a gallant 
attempt was made to tm-n the Mexicans with this small body of 
horse, and with them assail the left flank of the enemy. The deep 
ditches which traversed the " wide and marshy fields" prevented the 
carrying out of this manoeuvre, and the cavalry, after ineflectual en- 
deavors to execute it, were compelled to return to the causeway, 
and there await the development of events. As soon as the bridge- 
head had been carried. Pillow says : " I then let him loose. Furi- 
ous was his charge upon the retreating foe, dealing death with the 
unerring sabi'e." 

Before Kearny, however, could bring the " unerring sabre" into 
play some time elapsed. The Dragoons had to make their way 
through the mass of obstacles which encumbered the causeway be- 
fore they could operate or even form. To the left of the bridge- 
head the huge wagons, which composed the Mexican ammunition 
train, were crowded together in the road leading from Chunibuseo, 
which entered the work from the west, or its right, immediately 
along the bank of the river. Every di'aught animal attached to 
these had been killed, and the passage was almost blocked up by 
the mass of wagons, war material, and dead men and animals, shat- 
tered and thrown together by the answering fires of assailants and 
defenders. To heighten the confusion, one of the powder wagons 
took fire, and threatened an immediate explosion. This would have 
been most disastrous in the narrow space completely jammed with 
the bloody wi'eck and rubbish of war, through which our advancing 
cavahy had to pick and force their way. With a reckless daring 



// 



142 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

some of the soldiers on the road devoted themselves to the preservv 
ation of theu* comrades. They climbed into the bm-ning wagons, 
tore out the ammunition chests already kindled into flame, and tum- 
bled them into the ditch before the fire could reach their contents.* 
A path thus frayed for him by this exertion of heroism, Keaeny 
•was now enabled to extricate his di-agoons, and get them forward 
on the causeway, where it was partially clear. The retreating Mexi- 
cans had meanwhile made good use of their respite, and had already 
placed a distance of over a mile and a half between themselves and 
then- pm'suers. As soon as he had space, Keakny formed his troop, 

* "More of the New York Boys. We most gladly give place to the following additional 
leaf in the chaplet of glory worn by New York, for that her sous have proved themselves 
worthy of such a mother : 

" We hardly know how we could have omitted the name of the gallant Kearnt, for it 
has often been on our lips with words of admiration and praise, but we can hardly lament 
it, since it affords us this opportunity to lay before our readers such details as the follow- 
ing interesting communication furnishes : 

To the Editor of the Courier and Enquirer : 

"Allow me to add a sixth to the names of the gallant 'New Yorkers,' whom you so 
justly mention with admiration, as having, under the folds of the American flag, soaked 
with their blood the soil before the city of Mexico. 

"I know the omission was accidental, and therefore recall it to your recollection : I al 
lude to Lieutenant (now Captain) Philip Kearny, of the First Dragoons, as chivalrous 
an officer as ever wore spur or belted sabre. 

"Having served ten years in the far West with his regiment, with the exception of two 
passed in France, under the requisition of Government, daring which he served a cr.ra- 
paigu with the army in Africa, he was about to resign his commission and retire to his 
estates, \vhcn the country was startled by the battle of Palo Alto. 

"Hastening to Washington, he arrived in time to withdraw his resignation, and was em 
powered to raise his own troops. He immediately applied himself with all his energies 
to the task, and by lavish expenditures of his own means, in addition to the bounty offered 
by Government, he was soon at the head of a body of picked men superbly mounted. 

"Joining General Scott at Vera Cruz, his troops were made his body-guard, and par- 
ticipated at the battle of Cerro Gordo, enduring, in common with the rest of the army, 
the fatigues and exposures up to the city of Puebla. 

" At the battle of Churubusco his Dragoons (it is unnecessary to say that he was at their 
head) were in the thickest of the fight. 

" Charging upon the retreating masses of the enemy, and exposed to the murderous dis- 
charge of four batteries, belching cross-fires of ball and grape-shot, besides an incessaut 
torrent of musketry from all sides, his arm suddenly fell helpless at his side, shattered by 
a ball a little below the shoulder. Although suffering intense pain, and bleeding profusely, 
he still retained his position and command, till, becoming faint, he reeled in his saddle, 
and was only prevented from falling by the hold of one of his dragoons. 

" From exhaustion and loss of blood he soon swooned entirely away, and being placed 
in a blanket, was carried to the rear of his men. 

" The next day his arm was amputated, and at the last accounts he was doing well. 

"My acquaintance is slight with Captain E., much more so than with Lieutenant 
ScnuTLER Hamilton, the only other of the gentlemen that you mention whom I have 
the pleasure of knowing, but whose elegance and modesty in the drawing-room fully pre- 
pared me for his gallantry in the field of battle ; but, slight as it is, I felt bound to call 
your attention to what I doubt not was an accidental omission." & 



EIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 143 

and galloped furiously after. His original force, small as it was, had 
only been augmented by a single platoon, under Captain Kerr, who 
was accompanied by Colonel Harney without a command. The 
column overtook the Mexicans about a half a mile outside the 
Garita (Barrier or Gate) of San Antonio Abad, through which the 
causeway enters the city. Beyond this commenced the suburbs of 
Mexico. 

Into the dense mass of thousands of the enemy — Santa Anna and 
several other generals were involved in the tumult — Kearny plunged 
his command. It is not probable that it exceeded 100 horsemen. 
It could not have comprised over a hundi'ed and fifty horsemen, 
volunteers included, had his ranks been full, after deducting 
casualties and sick — victims to the enemy, campaigning and climate. 
It plunged into the Mexican armed crowd, just as one of the Brig- 
antiaes of Cortes crushed its way onwards thi'ough the midst of the 
enormous fleet of Aztec war canoes on a like sunny May-day (1521), 
326 years previously ; or just as Cortes himself, with his devoted 
band, charged home, and wrested victory out of defeat. 

" Out of this nettle danger we plucked the flower safety," 

at the famous battle of Otompan, or of Otumba, on the 8th July, 
1520. Or perhaps, even more like the charge of Claverhouse, at 
Bothwell Bridge, after the gate and barricade had been battered 
down by the artillery and cleai-ed by the infantry ; when that model 
trooper of the day followed up the Covenanters until his "Life- 
Guard's swords were blunted and their horses blown." 

The sabres of the dragoons scattered death and dismay through 
the Mexican soldatesca, and hewed their way onwards with as fatal 
effect as the light broadsides of the vessel of the Conquistador 
thi'ough the fleet of their Aztec forefathers. Those of the crowd 
who were not cut down or ridden over, either thi-ew themselves 
into the ditches on either side of the causeway, and dispersed over 
the fields, or else jammed themselves, in a confused mass, iato the 
entrance of the barrier. 

A battery or lunette, mounting two guns, defended the Garita,* 
The garrison — either bewildered and terror-stricken at the wild 

♦ There was a regular line of defences from the Nino Perdido Gate to that of San An- 
tonio. There the line stopped. To the left or east of it was a lunette connected, a quar- 
ter of a mile farther on, a priest's cap or swallow-tail, detached, and about a quarter of a 
mile to the left of this again a simple redan or fleche.— " ilfa^j attached to Official Beport." 



y 



144 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEBAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

tumult, which surged upon them in all the panic of a rout, instead 
of the assured victory they had been promised, or determined to 
make good their position regardless of then- own people — now 
opened their fii-e upon friend and foe, dealing death promiscuously 
amid the crowd. 

Unfortunately, while this charge was progressing with so much 
success. General Scott — unaware of its success or opportunities — 
had despatched an order to arr^t the pursuit, fearful that it might 
be carried too far, and compromise what had been gained. As soon 
as this order reached Colonel Harney " he caused the recall to be 
sounded from the rear." Amid the thunder of artUleiy and the 
shouts and cries and uproar of the flight, the notes of the bugle were 
either unheard or unheeded by those in advance. Those in the 
rear, however, gradually obeyed the signal, and small parties con- 
tinually dropped off, from time to time, as the trumpet notes which 
conveyed the order made themselves heard. Thus, those who held 
on their adventm-ous way were soon reduced to " three or four sets 
of fours." With this hand-full, Keaeny kept on as undauntedly — 

" Into the jaws of Death, 
Into the mouth of Hell," 

as if he had been followed by the whole force with which he 
launched out upon the enemy. In this he was accompanied by 
Major Mills, of the Fifteenth Infantry, who had joined his squadron 
as a volunteer after participating in the fierce struggle in which his 
own regiment had its Colonel wounded and one-third of its force 
cut down. 

Just in front of the Garita a ditch had been dug nearly across the 
causeway. Although numbers of the Mexicans had been precipi- 
tated into this cut by the pressm-e of the mass behind, it was yet 
impassable for men on horseback. Perceiving that the Mexican 
mounted officers — mingled with the flying crowd — abandoned their 
animals to make then- way across this obstruction on foot, Kearny 
threw himself from his saddle, called upon his men to follow, dashed 
across the ditch, and threw himself into the midst of the Mexicans, 
to enter the battery with them. He was nobly supported by two 
officers and about a dozen dragoons. It is a sorrow and a shame 
that American History has not preserved the names of all these 
men. From the context it would appear that the officers were Cap- 
tain Andrew F. McReynolds, Tlurd U. S. Dragoons, from Michi- 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 145 

gan, who was severely wounded on this occasion, and Lieutenant 
John Lorimer Graham, Tenth U. S. Infantry, likp Major Mills, 
serving with Captain Kearny, and " attached" to his command, also 
severely wounded. It is a very curious fact that Kearny, McRey- 
NOiJJS and Graham, were all three injured on this occasion, in the 
left arm. Major Mills fell, slain at, or, as claimed, inside, the very 
gates. 

Kearny always had a confused idea of what occm-red at this 
juncture, and yet he preserved a distinct recollection of many inter- 
esting incidents. He said that when he threw himself into the 
press, hewing his way over the rampart and into the battery, he 
distinctly saw one Mexican officer pointing him out to the infantry 
in the work, and by his gestures, urging the men to take good aim 
and shoot him down. The features of this officer seemed to have 
been impressed upon his mind with such vivid force that he could 
have recognized him subsequently. The jam soon prevented 
Kearny from using his weapons, and it appeared as if a hundi'ed 
hands had hold of him at once ; otherwise, the pressm'e itself ren- 
dered his sword arm powerless. How he extricated himself he 
never could tell. When he found himself free, his leather baldrick 
or cross-belt — ^to which his officers' cartridge-box was attached — was 
gone, likewise his pistol. It had been torn off in the struggle to 
get free, likewise his waist-belt ; yet he could not remember how or 
when. This may be readily conceived, when the reader calls to 
mind that a cannon had been belching forth death almost in the 
face of Kearny and his little band, striking down Americans and 
Mexicans on either hand. Thus fell the gallant Major Mills ; thus 
the staunch McReynolds and Grahajm were disabled. 

Nothing saved Kj;aknt and the sm'vivers of his party but the 
panic, inspu-ed by his audacity. Terror-stricken, the Mexicans at 
the moment when he was in their power seemed to have shinmk 
back appalled- They either abandoned their guns or ceased to 
charge and discharge them ; and even the musketry discontinued its 
fire. It was the very chm-m of battle, a whirlpool of human life. 
But the thunder of the tempest had a pause. Had K-earny been 
followed by the number with which he commenced this charge, or 
had no signal of recall been blown, and had he been supported by a 
force of infantry, he could have made his way into the city, and 
Mexico, most probably, would have been captured that day. From 
the Garita of San Antonio to the Grand Plaza is less than a mile 



146 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT". 

and three-quaxters, and within the ban-ier there was not a single 
defensive work, and no organized defenders had there been any. 
All was indisci'iminate panic, consequent confusion and flight. 

The following extract fi-om the " other side," or Mexican History 
of tiiis war, is too complimentary to justify its omission. The 
reader will pardon its inaccuracies, since the Mexicans, from their 
own showing, were in no condition to see things clearly or relate 
them accurately : — 

" General Santa Anna, with his staff and General Alcoeta, re- 
th'ed also from this place" — the Villa or Village of Portales, about 
three-quarters of a mile in the rear of the bridge-head, " which still 
was contested." " He mixed himself with the cavalry, and, desperate, 
gave the whip to some of the ofiicers, who fled. On the causeway 
a horrible disorder was seen ; all were confounded, and pushed one 
another, and trampled one another under foot. 

" The American di-agoons, mounted on fleet horses, coming up 
to our rear-guard, increased the fright, by crushing those whom they 
met in their way. General Santa Anna reached the Garita of San 
Antonio, and after him, the rest of om*s, cut to pieces, mixed up 
with some of the enemy's dragoons, intoxicated with blood. The 
men at the guns discharged some grape-shot among these, and the 
infantry, feeling that their entrance was now covered, opened a 
thick fire along the causeway, animated by the presence of Gener- 
als Santa Anna, Alcorta and Gaona, who personally commanded 
them. At this moment an American officer, in an uniform of blue, 
penetrated through the low earthen rampart, mounted on his horse, 
sword in hand, dealing sabre-blows, and falling wounded on the 
esplanade." [Mark this : inside the San Antonio Gate must be 
inferred from the Mexican account.] "Many swords were drawn to 
kill him ; but the others also hastened to defend him on seeing him 
fall. He rose crippled, radiant with valor, and smiling at the feli- 
city of being at the Gates of the Capital" 

This officer was Philip Keaknt !* 

* " It is not often that we prodigalize eulogium. We do not consider every officer who 
cornea bacli wounded a hero. That epithet must be won by more than mere bravery— it 
belongs only to bravery in the excess ; patience under fatigue ; unmurmuring endurance 
of pain, and an ardent thirst for glory. Of all the officers who have fought under our 
bauuers, no man has shown all those characteristics more fully than Captain Kearnt. 
Yet no voice here has been loud in his p"raise, no city newspaper has invited public atten- 
tion to his gallantry, and called upon the citizens of his native place to do him honor. If 
the story of his charge at Churubusco be not exaggerated, certainly there is no cause to be 
shown why he should receive two brevets, as did Captain Mat. Captain Kbabnt is in 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 147 

Finding himself alone, but free, Kearny comprehended his situ- 
ation at once, that nothing was to be done but get out of the scrape 
as soon as possible. He accordingly retraced his steps along the 
causeway on foot. It would have been fortunate for him had he 
continued to do so, for he had scarcely withdrawn when the Mexi- 
cans remanned then* guns, and commenced firing grape down the 
road. Unluckily, Kearny encountered one of our di'agoon horses, 
whose rider had been kUled, sprang into the saddle, and attempted 
to spur him into a gallop. But the animal was done up, and whe- 
ther from exhaustion or wounds, could scarcely hobble along. An- 
other discharge of grape now tore down the causeway. While on 
foot, the first missiles passed over his head. Fhing too high was a 
common fault of the Mexicans. They seem to have often aimed 
along the line of metal, mthout allowing for the dispart. Being 
elevated in the saddle, a single ball took efiect and completely shat- 



flne health, but we regret to learn that Lieutenant Graham, who accompanied the charge 
and shared in his misfortune, has not recovered from the effect of his wound, for the 
want of attention, but has just passed through a dangerous illness. We hope they may 
both be shortly again in the saddle. To show that we have not exaggerated the merit of 
Captain Keabnt, we subjoin a description of his and his troop's share at the battle of 
Churubusco : 

"The charge of Keabnt's dragoons upon the flying masses of the Mexicans in the 
battle of Churubusco is one of the most brilliant and decisive feats which have occurred 
in the war. As soon as our troops had carried the formidable tete de pont by which the 
avenue leading to the city was laid open to cavalry, Captain Kearny's dragoons rushed 
upon the flying masses of the Mexicans with an impetuosity and fury which made amends 
for the scantiness of their numbers, and bore them back in confusion upon the town. The 
enemy had upon the causeway a force of cavalry fourfold that of our own, but the nar- 
rowness of the avenue prevented him from availing himself of this superiority, and re- 
duced the conflict to those single-handed issues in which the Mexicans must ever yield to 
our prowess. The audacity of the onset of Kearny's troops struck dismay to the host 
which fled before them. The retreat became a confused rout, and the causeway was 
blocked up by the entangled masses of the enemy. But even through this obstacle the tri- 
umphant dragoons forced their way, trampling down those who escaped their relentless 
sabres. Scattering their foe before them, the dragoons came at last within reach of the 
formidable batteries which defended the gates of the city, and a murderous fire was opened 
upon them, which was even more terrible to the fugitive Mexicans than to the dragoons. 
The latter continued their pursuit up to the gates of the city, and were shot down or made 
prisoners upon the very parapets of its defences. This was the moment, if ever, that 
Gen. Scott might have entered the city, had the instant possession of it conformed to his 
preconceived designs. Already had the inhabitants of the town set up the cry that the 
Americans were upon them, and the whole population was stricken defenceless by panic 
terrors. But the dragoons were recalled from the pursuit, and the survivors of that des- 
perate charge withdrew, covered with wounds and with honors. 

" In every narration of the events of Churubusco we have seen this charge and pursuit 
of Kearny's dragoons commemorated and applauded, but it appears to have impressed 
the Mexicans far more than the popular mind of our own countrymen. In various letters 
which we have seen written by them from the capital, they speak of the audacity of the 
dragoons as terrible and almost supernatural."— iVeic Orleans Picayune, Nov, 21s<, 1847. 



148 BIOGRAPHY -0^ MAJOE-GENEBAL PHILIP KEAENY, 

ter6d the bone of Kearny's left arm, between his elbow and shoul- 
der. He described the pain as excruciating, but still was able to 
keep the saddle.' Tlie flow of blood, however, soon brought on 
such exhaustion, that he was about to fall when he came across a 
group of our soldiers. They staunched the blood as well as they 
were able, placed him in a blanket, and carried him to the hospital 
He suffered terribly irntH an operation was performed ; and he often 
said no words could express his sense of relief as soon as the arm was 
amputated. Wliile Sm-geon De Leon was at work. General Pierce, 
of New Hampshire, held his head. Kearny often spoke with grati- 
tude of the feeling displayed on this occasion by the future President. 

Thus had his presentiment been realized. He had saved his life, 
but lost his left arm as he foretold. Nor had the words, lightly 
spoken at the dinner in Puebla, fallen unheeded to the gi-ouud. 
He had won his brevet, and paid the price with his left arm. 

This was the end of Kearny's service in Mexico ; brief, but how 
o-lorious ! He was not at that time the robust man he afterwards 
developed into, nor was his wound an ordinary one. Scarcely any 
of the arm was left, it was taken off so near the shoulder. Before 
the stump was healed, Scott was in Mexico, reveling — if the con- 
sciousness of a triumphant issue due to his superior generalship is 
not thus correctly construed, what is ? — in the haUs of the Mon- 
tezumas. 

On the 13th September, Mexico was virtually captured; on the 
14th, " Old Glory" waved over the National Palace, and Scott en- 
tered the city amid the acclamations of his soldiers. 

Captain J. W. P , Fom'th U. S. Ai'tiUery, seiwing as Infan- 
try, stood w^ith the remains of his regunent, drawn up in the Grand 
Plaza when Scott entered. The old General, the hero of twowai-s, 
was in full and splendid uniform. Conspicuous above all the rest 
towered the grand Commander-in-Chief, as magnificent a specimen 
of an American as he was an illustrious example of a general. Be- 
hind followed an escort of di-agoons, grand men on tall horses. 
As the honored Chief entered the open square, a loud hurrah, a 
shout such as can issue from none other than Anglo-Saxon throats, 
bm-st from the troops akeady di-awn up there. Brandishing their 
sabres high in air, the dragoons responded with a like manly hm-- 
rah ; and the old walls and buildings echoed, until they seemed 
to shake, to such victorious cheers as no Latin or Hybrid race caa 
utter. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 149 

Sut the first man who had entered, sword in hand, the gate Oj 
that captured capital, was Captain Philip EIeakny. 

DOCUMENTS. 

EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS. 

" An-Iving here, the 18th (August), Woeth's division and Harney's cavalry 
were pushed forward a league to reconnoitre, and to carry or to mask San Antonio, 
on the direct road to-the capital. This village was found strongly defended by 
field works, heavy guns, and a numerous garrison. It could only be turned by 
infantry to the left over a field of volcanic rocks and lava ; for, to our right, the 
ground was too boggy. It was soon ascertained, by the daring engineers, Captain 
Mason, and Lieutenants Stevens and Toweb, that the point could only be 
approached by the fi-ont, over a naiTow causeway, flanked -with wet ditches of 
great depth. WOETH was ordered not to attack, but to threaten, and to mask the 
place. 

"The first shot fired from San Antonio (the 18th) killed Captain S. Thoextox, 
Second Dragoons, a gallant oificer, who was covering the operations with his 
company. 

'"The same day a reconnoissance was commenced to the left of San Augustin, 
first over difficult mounds, and farther on over the same field of volcanic rocks 
and lava which extend to the mountains, some five miles from San Antonio 
towards Magdalena. This reconnoissance was continued to-day by Captain Lee, 
assisted by Lieutenants Beaueegaed and Toweb, all of the engineers, who were 
joined in the afternoon by Major Smith, of the same corps. Other divisions 
coming up, PiLLOW's was advanced to make a practicable road for heavy artillery, 
and Twiggs' thro\vn farther in front to cover that operation ; for, by the partial 
reconnoissance of yesterday, Captain Lee discovered a large corps of observation 
in that direction, \vith a detachment of which his supports of cavalry and foot, 
under Captain Iveaeny and Lieutenant-Colonel Geaham, respectively, had a suc- 
cessful skirmish." (Compare Semmes' "Service Afloat and Ashore," pages 378 
-584.) 

Major- General Scott's Official Report, No. 5, of the "Battles of Contreras and Churu- 
busco" Executive Documents, No. 1, page 304. 

" Arriving at Coyoacan, two miles by a cross-road from the rear of San An- 
tonio, I first detached Captain Lee, engineer, with Captain Keaeny's troop, First 
Dragoons, supported by the rifle regiment, under IMajor LoEiNG, to reconnoitre 
that strong point ; and next des^Datched Major-General Pillow, with one of the 
brigades, (Cadwalladee's, ) to make the attack upon it, in concert with Major- 
General WoETH on the opposite side." 

Major-General Scott's Official Report, Ibid., JSTo. 82, page 809. 

"As soonn%t}\eUtedepont was carried, the greater part of Woeth's and 
Pillow's forces passed that bridge in rapid pursuit of the flying enemy. These 
distinguished Generals coming up with Brigadier-General Shields, now also 



/ 



150 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

victorious, the three continued to pi-ess upon the fugitives to within a mile and a 
half of the capital. Here Colonel Harney, with a small part of his brigade of 
cavalry, rajiidly passed to the front, and charged the enemy up to the nearest 
gate. 

" The cavalry charge was headed by Captain KeaKNT, of the First Dragoons 
having, in squadron, with his o^vn troop, that of Captain McReynolds, of the 
Third — making the usual escort to general headquarters ; but, being early in the 
day attached to general service, was now under Colonel Harney's orders. The 
gallant Captain, not hearing the recaU that had been sounded, dashed up to the 
San Antonio gate, sabring in his Avay all who resisted. Of the seven officers of 
the squadron, Kearn"Y lost his left arm, McReynolds and Lieutenant Loeimer 
Graham were both severely wounded, and Lieutenant R. S. Ewell, who suc- 
ceeded to the command of the escort, had two horses killed under him. Major F. 
D. Mills, of the Fifth Infantry, a volunteer in this charge, was killed at the 
gate." 

MajOT'Oeneral Scott's Official Report, Ibid., No. 32, page 315. 

" Captain KEARNY, of the First Dragoons, commanding a squadron composed 
of his own and Captain INIcReynolds' companies, was on duty with my division , 
during the action, and made his way with great difficulty across the wide and 
marshy fields and deep ditches. Seeing no field for the action of his fine squadron 
until the tete de pont was carried, I had held him in reserve. I then let him loose. 
Furious was his charge upon the retreating foe, dealing death Avith the unerring 
sabre, until he readied the very suburbs of the city, and drew from tJie enemy's 
batteries at the garita a heavy and destructive fire, by which the gallant Captain 
lost his left arm ; and Captain McReynolds, Third Dragoons, who nobly sus- 
tained the daring movements of his squadron commander, was also wounded in 
the left arm. Both of these fine companies sustained severe losses in their rank 
and file also." 

Major- General Pillow's Official Report, Ibid., pageZid-"'!. 

"The reports of Major Sumner, commanding First Battalion, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel MooUE, commanding Second Battalion, which I have the honor to forward 
herevrith, will show in what manner the other troops and squadrons of my com- 
mand were employed. Tlie three troops of horse, brought by me on the field, 
being ordered away in different directions, Major Sumner and myself soon found 
ourselves without commands. I then employed myself with my staff in rallying 
fugitives and encouraging our troops on the left of the main road. Major Sumner, 
towards the close of the engagement, was placed by the general-in-chief in charge 
of the last reserve, consisting of the rifle regiment and one company of horse, and 
was ordered to support the left. This force was mo\'ing rapidly to take its posi- 
tion in line-of -battle, when the enemy broke and fled to the city. At this 
moment, perceiving that the enemy were retreating in disorder on one of the main 
causeways leading to the city of Mexico, I collected all the cavalry in my reach, 
consisting of parts of Captain Kebr'S company, Second Dragoons, Captain 
Kearny's company. Fust Dragoons, and pursued them vigorously until we wero 
halted by the discharge of the batteries at their gate. Many of the enemy were 
overtaken in the pursuit and cut down by our sabres. I cannot speak in terms 



BIOGKaPHY op major-general PHILIP KEAENT. 151 

too complimentary of the manner in which the charge was executed. My only 
difficulty was in restraining the impetuosity of my men and officers, who seemed 
to vie with each other who should be foremost in the pursuit. Captain Kbakny 
gallantly led his squadron into the very intrenchments of the enemy, and had the 
misfortune to lose an arm from a grape-shot fired from a gun at one of the main 
gates of the capital. Captain jSIcReyxolds and Lieutenant Gkaham were also 
wounded, and Lieutenant Ewell had two horses shot under him." 

Colonel WiLLiAJi S. Harnbt's Official Report, Ibid, page 347. 

" Return of killed, woanded, and missing of the army under the immediate com- 
mand of Major-General Winfield Scott on the 19th and 20th August, 1847. 

haeney's brigade. 

Killed : 
"First Dragoons, Company F (KEAnxY's)— Privates Patrick Hart, jAiiES 

McDonald, McBropht, John Hitter. 

• •***«* 

" Third Dragoons, Company K (McRbtnolds')— Prirates Edwabd Curtis, 
Augustus Dessoll, George Duvee. 

Wounded : 
" First Dragoons, Company F (Kearny's) — CaptainVKlLTP Kearny, severely^ 
lost left arm; Lieutenant Losimer Graham, (Tenth Infantry,) attached, 
severely. 

"Third Dragoons, Company K(MC!REYNOLDS')—Ca^tem A. T. McReynolds, 

severely; private Co^vden." 

Senate Executive Document, No. 1, December 7, 1847, page 431. 



CHAPTER XII. 

HOME, SWEET HOME; 

* * * "Behold my success in your service," and the Abbe produced a long leather 
case, richly inlaid with gold. 

"Faith, Abbe," said I, "am I to understand that this is a present for your eldest 
pnpil ?" 

"You are," said Montreuil, opening the case, and producing a sword ; the light fell 
upon the hilt, and I drew back dazzled with its lustre ; it was covered with stones, appar- 
ently of the most costly value. Attached to the hilt was a lable of purple velvet, on which, 
in letters of gold, was inscribed, • • • 

Deyeeeus. 

»Tis a sword of Spain « * * • 

" Behold ! I have a weapon: 
A better never did itself sustain 
Upon a soldier's thigh • * « • 

Othello. 

After his return from Mexico, in December, 1847, decorated 
with the loss of Ms left arm, and honored with a brevet — ^which he 
had won as justly as ever a brevet was earned — ^for distinguished 
gallantry in action — ^for which, alone, such a distinction should be 
conferred — ^Major Keakny was on recruiting service in the city of 
New York from May, 1848, to July, 1851. Dm'ing this period, for 
the first time in many years, he was settled down in the midst of 
his few surviving relatives and many friends, and happy in his own 
home, buUt on a portion of the country seat of his gi'eat-gTand- ' 
father on his mother's feide. Honorable John Watts, senior. He 
used to speak with deUght of this period, when he was " master of his 
o\vn estabUshment, his nice gai'den, and pretty play-ground for his 
children," in his native city. 

Daring his sojourn in New York, a compliment was paid him which 
he always seemed to regard as the most welcome token of his fellow 
citizens' appreciation of his military services. A great many per- 
sons at the time, especially New Yorkers, did not think that the 
government had taken sufficient notice of Kearny's gallantry 
at the Gates of Mexico. Many officers had received two brevets 
for far less conspicuous merit In fact, such was the injustice 

15a 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 153 

slioN^Ti that one of the finest officers in the service returned hi:; 
brevet in disgust. Philip Keaunt was a member of the Uniou 
Chib, a body of gentlemen, which comprised numbers of the first 
men of the city, both as to position and intelligence. This body of 
representative citizens determined to present a " costly and superb 
testimonial" of then* feelings towards theu* fellow-member " for 
gallantry during the Mexican War, but especially at Churubusco." 
Tliis testimonial was a "magnificent sword," which was indeed 
magnificent for the time when it was made. As a rich and chaste 
specimen of art it has never been exceeded, although more money 
has been lavished upon similar presentation gifts in recent years. 
^ Tlie guard was formed by a large spread eagle in gold, holding in 
its beak the head of a serpent, the folds of which constituted the 
guard, which was studded with agates. The handle itself was solid 
silver, richly chased, and it was fastened to the blade of " the ice- 
brook's temper," arabesqued and polished in perfect taste. 

" The scabbard, which was also of sold silver, was relieved with 
ornaments in gold and etchings. In a long oval was a sketch of 
the battle of Chm-ubusco, where Captain Kearny lost his left arm, 
and within a cu-cle, the word " Churubusco." Upon one of the 
Ixands was a representation of Hercules crushing the Serj)ent, and 
on another a military device, admkably aiTanged. The following 
inscription shows the pm-pose of the gift : — " Presented to Captain 
Philip Kearnt, Jr., Fu-st Regiment U. S. Dragoons, by his Friends 
and Associates, members of the Union Club, New York, 1848." 

The sword was enclosed m a curiously contrived case of black 
walnut, which was worthy of the weapon it contained. 

When his body lay in state, prior to his interment, in the parlor 
of his mansion at Belle Grove, this sword was clasped in the arms 
of the dead soldier, closely pressed to that bosom which had twice 
been decorated by the hands of foreign sovereigns, for the same 
pre-eminent soldiership that won the exquisite weapon for the 
iallen warrior — a weapon his patriotic right arm never again could 
^^deld for the country he loved so deai'ly, the country for which he 
died. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE GOLDEN GATE ; AND VICTORT ON THE KOGUE EIVEK. 

"Tausend TEtTFLEN ! that I shouM say so, and so like to be near my latter end," ejacn- 
ated the Captain ; but under his breath, " what will become of us, now they have brought 
musketry to encounter our archers ?" 

Sm Waitbb Scott's '■'■Legend of Montrose.^ 

In midsummer, 1851, Keaknt received orders to join his com- 
pany in California, and sailed for San Francisco in August of that 
year. 

Thither he was not unwilling to proceed, as he wished to look 
after some very large investments made for him by an agent, but 
without his knowledge. These tm-ned out very unfortunately, and 
swallowed up a fortune. Nevertheless, as lucky in his daring specu- 
lations as La his military dashes, he more than retrieved the loss 
while at the " Golden Gate." 

The writer has reason to be well acquainted with all these cii-eum- 
stances, for to him, as to a brother, in preference to all others in the 
world, Phil. Kearny came for assistance in difficulties for which he 
was in no way responsible in honor nor called upon to remedy, 
except thi'ough that high sense of chivalry and regard for his name 
which always distinguished his actions. Prostrate from typhoid 
fever and almost powerless, the writer was still happy to be able to 
accomplish all that was necessary, and this fact is mentioned simply 
to demonstrate the mutual confidence and affection at ciises which 
existed between his cousin and himself 

It was dm-ing this period of Kearny's residence in New York 
that he experienced that attack of varioloid — taken in the discharge 
of his duty — which was almost as severe as the worst form of small- 
pox. He was very deeply scarred in consequence of this disease, 
and through it a complete alteration was wi'ought in his appearance. 
Not only were his featm-es affected, but a complete physical change 
occurred. From this time forward he began to spread and develop 
into that magnificent figm*e of a trooper which atti'acted the atten- 

154 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 155 

tion of every one who saw him as he lay upon the embalming table. 
From this time, also, that resemblance between the cousins, which 
had so often attracted notice, terminated, and was no longer 
remarked. 

Major Philip Kearny had scarcely been transferred from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific coast when he demonstrated the truth of 
what has so often been claimed for him, that he seemed destined to 
shine in whatever he undertook. His summer campaign of 1851, 
against the Rogue River Indians, Avas one of the most telling blows 
ever delivered by our army in this harassing warfare. These sav- 
ages at that period were the most wicked, most warlike, and most 
difficult to subdue of all the tribes on om- Pacific coast. What 
rendered them more formidable was the fact that they occupied a 
district which intercepted all intercourse between Oregon and Cali- 
fornia ; scattered along and across the direct road, north and south, 
on the banks of the Rogue River, which di-ains a rugged, moun- 
tainous wilderness, and flows as a general thing west and perpen- 
dicular to the coast, emptying into the Pacific, twenty miles south 
of Port Orford, and fifty miles north of Crescent City. 

Much information in regard to this expedition is derived from 
Major-General Rufus Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster for so many 
campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. At that time he was 
stationed at Fort Vancouver, on the Washington shore of the 
Columbia River, where he fitted out Major Keaeht. To use his 
language, " this handsome campaign opened that country." It has 
often been commented upon with surprise how Keaent, one-armed 
as he was, kept his saddle on all occasions, even when the march 
lay along mountain tracks most dangerous, and often seemingly 
impracticable for a soldier on horseback ; tracks difiicult enough 
for the sure footed mules. The principal engagement was that of 
the Table Rock, laid down on the maps as Fort Lane, about mid- 
way between Rosebm-g, north, and Crescent City, south. The 
former (Rosebm-g) is the residence of Joe Lane, as he was famili- 
arly styled, then Governor of the Territory, who wi'ote to Kearny 
one of the most flattering letters which can rewai'd an oflicer who 
has succeeded in solving a difiicult and dangerous problem. He 
gave him the greatest credit for the ability with which he had 
planned, and the resolution with which he had executed his opera- 
tions. The fight at the Table Rock was a complete triumph. It 
awed the savages, pacified the district, and accomplished the great 



156 BIOGRAPHT OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

object in vieTV, making the route safe between our farthest north- 
western territory and California. On this occasion a very gallant 
officer fell — Captain Stewart, who passed thi'ough the whole Mexi- 
can war with distinction, unscathed, to die at the hands of a miser- 
able Indian, shot through the body with an arrow by that savage 
whom he had rushed forward to save from the just fmy of our 
troops. The torture which preceded his decease must have been 
t-errific, as was testified by his reply to Major Keaknx's question, 
" Stew AKT, ai"e you suffering much f "Suffering! I feel as if a 
red hot bar of ii-on was thrust through my bowels." 

Major Kjiaunt took the greatest pride in the letter which he 
received from Governor Lane of Oregon in relation to these engage- 
ments and their happy results. This letter he exhibited to the 
writer when next they met with an honest exultation, such as he 
seldom displayed, as an acknowledgment of his able and brilliant 
soldiershij). This letter, like all the rest of the testunonials which 
Kearny received fi'om time to time, is no longer to be found. 
As soon as the present work was projected, a letter was addi-essed 
to Governor Lane in the hope that a copy of it might have been 
preserved by him. The following is the Governor's reply, but it 
cannot approach the concise elegance with which he expressed his 
commendation in the original document : 

KosEBUEG, Oregon, April 27th, 1868. 
General de PEYSTER: 

Sir : — I regret my inability to furnish you a copy of the letter you mention in 
yours of the 21st January,* but it aifords me pleasure to supply, as well as I can 
from memory, a brief statement of the conduct, in Oregon, of the late General 

• New Yoke, No. 59 East 218t Stbeet, January 21st, 1868. 
GmemoT Joseph 'L&.Tfm^ formerly, about 1851, Governor afOreaon: 

Sib :— The person who addresses you is the cousin, co-heir, and biographer of MajorKxonoral 
PHiLrp Keabnt. About the year 1852, or 1853, my counsin, General Keaeny, then Major United 
States Dragoons, came to my house on the Hudson, having just returned from the Pacific coast and 
Ills campaign against the Rogue River Indians, which gave peace to that Territory. He showed 
me a letter from you. In which he seemed to take great pride. In this you gave him the highest 
credit for the ability with which he had planned the expedition, and for the vigor and intrepidity 
with which he had carried it out. 

If I recollect aright, you stated in that letter that the chastisement which ho had inflicted on 
those particularly lawless tribes had given peace to the State or Territory of which you were the 
Executive. What has become of this valuable testimonial, I linow not. If you could give me a 
duplicate of it you would oblige me exceedingly. If you cannot give mo a copy, can you not give 
me a paraph' fifl->, or a certificate of equal force, to embody in the General's biography. 

Your early attention to this will exceedingly oblige me, and assist me to present to the world 
properly a peculiar iihase in the life of my cousin. 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. WATTS DB PEYSTEE. 



i 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL THILIP KEARNT. 157 

Kearnt, the important results of which induced from myself the merited compli- 
ment to which you allude. 

During the summer of 1851 Major Phil Keakitt received orders to proceed 
with two companies of United States Dragoons, Captains Stewart and Walkebj 
from Oregon to some point in California. En route, he was informed of a recent 
attack of the Rogue River Indians, in which they succeeded in killing quite a 
number of miners, and doing other mischief. 

These Indians were at that time the most warlike and formidable tribe on the 
Pacific coast. Never having known defeat, they were exceedingly bold in their 
depredations upon the miners and settlers, and were the terror of all. Major 
Kearny determined, if possible, to give them battle, and finally found them, three 
hundred braves strong, in the occupation of an excellent position. He ordered an 
attack, and, after a sharp engagement, succeeded in dislodging them, Idlling, wound- 
ing, and capturing fifty or more. It was here that the lamented, brave, and bril- 
liant Stewart fell. The Indians retreated across Rogue River, and feeling that 
they had not been suiRciently chastised, the Major concluded to pursue them, and, 
wliilst in the prosecution of this purpose, I joined him. He followed until the 
Indians made a stand quite favorable to themselves on Evans Creek, about thirty 
miles distant from the scene of their late disaster. Here he again attacked them, 
killed and wounded a few, and captured about forty, among the latter a very import- 
ant prisoner in the person of the Great Chief's favorite wife. By means of this 
capture, and these successes an advantageous peace was obtained. Being an eye- 
witness, in part, of Kearny's movements and action, I can, with great truth, and 
do with no less pleasure, bear testimony to his gallantry as a soldier and his ability 
as an officer. I was then, and still am, sensible of the great good secured to 
Oregon by his. achievements at that particular time. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

(Signed) Joseph Lane. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

KEARNY A WANDEREE. 

"And from his native land resolv'd to go, 
And visit scorching climes beyond the sea." 

Byeon's "Childe Harold.'" 

•♦Yon snn that sets upon the sea, 
We follow in hia flight ; 
Farewell awhile to him and thee, 
My native laud— Good Night I" 

Bybon's "Childe Harold.'" 

♦•Sir, to a wise man all the world's a foil: 
It is not Italy, nor France, nor Europe 
That must bound me, if my fates call me forth; 
Yet, I protest, it is no salt desire 
Of seeing countries, shifting for a religion, 
Nor any d'lsaffection to the state 
Where I was bred, and unto ivhich I owe 
My dearest plots, hath brought me out" 

B. Johnson's " Yolpone.'" 

KEARNY A WANDERER. 

After that gloriously successful campaign against the Rogue 
River Indians, in which Governor Lane bears such explicit testi- 
mony to his enterprise, gallantry, and efficiency, Kearny was sta- 
tioned in different parts of California. All his own letters, which 
were exceedingly able and interesting, have been either lost, mis- 
laid, or destroyed ; but the wi'iter has been able to find a series of 
intimations from the only surviving relative on his mother's side, 
his aunt, in which his movements are constantly referred to. 

In one, written out to Europe on the 7th October, 1851 : " I re- 
ceived a letter from Major Phil this morning, he desires remem- 
brance to you ; he is, at his quarters in the beautiful Valley of So- 
noma (in Northwestern California), well contented with the balmy 
breezes and the society of some right j^leasant officers — is going to 
take a look at Southern California ; expects to receive the accept- 
ance of hia resignation about the middle of this month, and then 

163 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 159 

comes home. I am sorry for this ; I had set my heart upon your 
meeting him on the top of the Pyramids ; now you must not go 
until next year, when you and Phil can take a fresh start from 
New York. I think that will bp delightful. We can all think serious- 
ly about it when the Major comes to New York." 

On the 14th November, the same correspondent wi'ote : " I have 
received another letter from the Major ; still enjoying himself to the 
full, expecting now daily to hear that his resignation is accepted, 
and be off to France by way of China, India, and Egyjjt ; a snug 
way to get to Paris, He has a great deal of military parade, guard- 
mounting at nine and a half in the morning, di*ess foot parade at 
retreat, with trumpets sounding, sometimes with full band (military 
doings), from day-break until nine at night, tattoo. His advice to 
have a post established at a certain point has been approved by 
General Hitchcock (Fort Lane, on the Rogue River scene of his 
victory?) on his visit to Oregon." 

Kearny's next letter, dated 14th November, 1851, spoke of sailing 
the next day in the United States ship-of-war Vincennes, as a guest 
of the Commander, Captain Hudson, to the Sandwich Islands, from 
thence to proceed to China, Calcutta, Bombay, where he expected 
to arrive in April, 1852. 

As intended, he sailed in the Vincennes, for China, stopping on 
the way at the Sandwich Islands. On the 7th December, 1851, he 
was at Honolulu. "He had the upper and second story in a new 
cottage with a piazza running around ; the native family (a chief's) 
occupied the lower. He breakfasted with them, or in his own 
apartments, and dined at a French restaurant. The Vincennes, a 
noble ship, struck the trade winds in four days, then went on dash- 
ingly, making, for hours at a time, twelve knots." 

Hence, Kearny went round the whole world, and met with a 
great many strange and interesting adventures. He visited a gi-eat 
many places, whither Americans very seldom go, except in the pur- 
suit of gain. He appears to have stopped at Ceylon, and on his re- 
turn was full of his stories of strange lands, but always declared 
that he had seen no such scenery — which united all those beauties, 
which afforded him the most pleasure, — as the banks of the North 
River immediately opposite the glorious Catskills. 

Again and again, while at Tivoh, and standing on our pine- 
clothed shore, with our magnificent mountains before his eyes, our 
majestic river at his feet, and the mm-mm' of air, of trees, and of 



160 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

waves -svhispering music in his ears, he was wont to exclaim : " I have 
been throughout the world, and, after all, when I get back here and 
look around me, I feel I have seen nothing more beautiful, nothing 
so beautiful elsewhere." Or, as he remarked at another time, " The 
more I gaze upon this scenery, the more it satisfies. One can dwell 
in its midst, or return to it again and again, without its tiring. It 
is satisfyingly lovely. Always the same in its featm-es and effects, 
yet ever changing in its expression, and ever presenting some new 
or hitherto unnoted charm." 

In the spring of 1853, Keakny was in Paris, where the writer 
met him in the full enjoyment of the society of the distinguished 
ofScers with whom he had served under the torrid sun of Africa, 
and with whom he was destined to serve again under the scarcely 
less burning sky of Italy — soldiers in the highest sense of the word, 
who appreciated him as a glorious type of an American soldier. One 
of these was that cavahy General Morris so often mentioned in 
orders for brilliant feats of arms. When Kearny first knew him 
he was Major of the Chasseurs d'Airique. Since that time he had 
risen to the rank of General of Division in the Cavahy of the Im- 
perial Guard. Between 1840 and 1853 he had distinguished him- 
self on numerous occasions, pai'ticularly at the captm'e of the Sma- 
lah (camp) of Abd-el-Kader, at the battle of Isly, and in the 
Crimea, Kjearnt was attached to his staff, as volunteer aid, at the 
battle of Solferino. 

Although decorated by the loss of his arm, and by universal 
acclaim a brilliant cavahyman, few men bore their honors with 
more difiidence. For a man who had done and seen so much as 
Kearnt, his deportment was entirely devoid of ostentation. It 
was at this time that he introduced the wiiter to one of the best 
artillery oflicers in our service, a man of rare gifts, an able and 
fluent writer, whose correspondence is well worthy of preservation, 
for the beauty of its descriptions of scenery as well as the elegance 
of its style. This officer also published an admirable translation of 
a French political work which, if the ordinary class of our miser- 
able politicians ever read, might have served as indications to en- 
able them to avoid the shoals on which our countiy was neai-ly 
wrecked in 1860-61. When the writer began to collect notes for 
this work, a letter was received from the party immediately before 
alluded to, an exti-act from which is extremely interesting, as it 
refers particularly to the time when all three met in Paris : 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 161 

" Yours * • • requesting to be informed of any incidents in the life of 
General Kearsty * * has just been received. I regret tliat I am not 
able to furnish you with any that would probably be possessed ^vith any general 
interest. My intercourse with him, though not infrequent during our period of 
military service, was always of a casual nature ; yet I saw him in many traits of 
character that v/on my esteem and kind regard. He was marked by a generous 
disposition, exhibiting itself at times in an affecting mood of self abandonment, 
and even desolateness, which was calculated to give one a deep and atti-active inter- 
est iu him. He had some of the very best traits of the soldier : he was gallant, 
ambitious, devoted, enterprising, decided, and embued with a thorough love for 
his profession. Though possessed, in many respects, of sound sense and good 
judgment, jet there are some incidents of his life, known to me only in vague, 
I general outline, that seem to border on the romantic. • * «■ 

It was in the spring of 1853, I think, that he. Lieutenant Bankhead, of the 
Navy, and myself, were at a reception of English and Americans given by the 
Empei'or Napoleon III., at the Tuilleries. I was much struck at the bearing of 
Major Keaeny. He had then left the service, but still bore the title, and for the 
occasion, wore the uniform. He was introduced to the emperor by our own min- 
ister, Mr. Rives -, and when his name and services were being mentioned, he 
shrank as if from modesty and bashfulness, although a lost arm showed that he 
had not shi-unk in the face of the enemy." * * * 

Kearny subsequently retui-ned to the United States, and devoted 
considerable time to embellishing his country-seat, Belle Grove, 
which he had recently purchased. It is on the Passaic, imme- 
diately opposite to Newark, and on its commanding site he after- 
wards constructed his elegant mansion, which he gi'adually filled 
with the finest statuary and choicest paintings. For his means, 
Kearny was a munificent patron of American art, and his collection 
contained several masterpieces of native chisels and pencils. Their 
aggregate display he never lived to enjoy, for he had scarcely 
brought them together in his New Jersey home, when he resumed 
his uniform ; and it is very doubtful if, living, he ever had an oppor- 
tunity to admu-e all his gems of art together, although the body of 
the hero lay in state surrounded by them. 

An enthusiast in everything he undertook, it was about this time 
that he turned his attention to the finest wool-bearing sheep. In 
the selection of his animals he spared no expense, and it is doubtful 
if there was a finer flock for its size in the United States. 

He also paid some attention to cattle, but it would seem that his 
investments in this line were not fortunate. One certainly was not, 
and he very soon relinquished the idea of forming and maintaining 
a herd. He visited the writer's neighborhood several times to exam- 
ine the magnificent Devons at " The Meadows," owned by the 



162 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

brothers Wainaatright, both of whom, like Kearny, relinquished 
the sweets of happy homes to serve and save then' country. The 
elder, William P. Wainaveight, a Christian gentleman, commanded 
the Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers, a very fine regiment, with 
gi-eat distinction. The younger, Charles S. Wainavright, a very 
able, practical man, commanded the Fu'st New York Artillery, a 
corps surpassed by none in the service. Both breveted Brigadier- 
Generals for gallant and conspicuous service, survived the friend 
whom tliey admired. We shall see the younger, referred to by 
Kearny, as displaying unusual gallantry and capacity at the battle 
of Williamsburgh. 

Kearny always and earnestly desired to settle on the banks of 
the North River. Several of the sites which were the objects of 
his choice are for natural positions and peculiar charms unexceeded 
by any in the most beautiful district of the Hudson, between Hyde 
Park and the boundary line between Duchess and Columbia Coun- 
ties. One of these sites is the prominent Turkey Point on the Avest 
bank of the River, about three miles beloAV Saugerties. Kearny 
never desired to settle in New Jersey, and he did not actually begin 
to build on the Passaic until he found himself unable to purchase 
any one of the places which suited his taste on the Hudson. Con- 
cerning this the Avi-iter can speak with certainty, for his own agent, 
at the request of Kearny, was employed to negotiate and attempt 
the purchase of one magnificent site in Red Hook and anotlier in 
Hyde Park. Besides these, a number of others Avere examined, and 
in two cases, Kearny ofiered higher prices than Avere actually re- 
alized for the same property afterwards, when sold. 

It has often been the occasion of remark that Kearny did not 
visit the Crimea to witness the siege of Sebastopol 1853-'5. This 
is easily explained. His business required his attention after his 
return home in 1853 in consequence of his frequent and protracted 
absences, and he was detained for a long time in consequence in 
this country. Subsequently accident — severe injuries from the 
fall of his horse through a bridge — and circumstances beyond his 
control prolonged his stay on this side of the Atlantic. Nothing 
but insurmountable obstacles would have kept him fi-om Avitnessing 
and participating in the grand di'ama of suifering and peril in the 
trenches, and on the blood-stained heights before Sebastopol. The 
atmosphere of such a charge as that of Balaklava would have been 
as congenial to his instincts as fire to the fabled Salamander, or to 



I 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 163 

the" actual " Salamander," the nickname applied to the British Gen- 
eral CuTTS, of King William's "Wars, whose elements seemed to 
be danger and the exchanging fires of opposing batteries and lines. 
Kearny, however, was one .of those restless dispositions which 
cannot brook any repose, however charming, provided it afforded 
none of that excitement which, to him, was the very breath of his 
nostrils. He suddenly started off, in 1856, to be present at the cor- 
onation of the Emperor Alexander at Moscow, and nothing could 
exceed his grapliic description of the fetes which attended the cere- 
mony. He seemed to experience a vivid satisfaction in his recol- 
lection of the military displays in which he participated and the 
pomp of which he was a spectator. He also made a torn* through 
Spain, and, previously, to prepare himself for it, applied his energy 
to mastering the Spanish language. This was characteristic of the 
man, and although the wi'iter cannot speak with certainty as to all 
the foreign tongues which he understood, he was certainly profi- 
cient in French, and was acquainted with the Italian and Spanish — 
very likely, the German also, in a less degTce, since he took a great 
deal of interest in the military matters of Germany, and visited 
Prague, to be present at some grand reviews which were held near 
that city. It is very cm*ious, but when, in 1852, the writer reported 
in favor of the gray uniform and system for the designation of rank, 
which in many respects was identical with that adopted by the Re- 
bels, this color and system received the full endorsement of Kearny, 
who dwelt with emphasis on the superior advantages of grey,* 



• ♦ * "Blue is now (1854) the national military color of nearly the whole civil- 
ized world. The United States, France, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Prussia, Greece, Swit- 
zerland, several of the minor German States, Spain and Great Britain, in many branches of 
their services, Naples, States of the Church, Piedmont, Tuscany, Turkey, and even Tunis, 
have adopted the dark blue coat, with some little difference of ornament. What objection 
can there be to the assumption of the well-known iron-grey as the uniform of the State 
of New York? None is more beautiful or striking than the old national grey, faced and 
trimmed with bright yellow somewhat similar to the dress of the Voltigeurs, or Foot-Rifle- 
men (See T 1004, U. S. Army Regulations 1847). The Tyrolese and Austrian Riflemen, 
likewise the Modenese, wear a similar grey with a shade of blue, which makes a very sim- 
ple and handsome suit. Likewise the Noble Guard of Tuscany. With their gold embroi- 
dery and splendid appointments, the latter's was the richest uniform * * * abroad. 
A light bluish-grey tunic, and darker pantaloons, constitute the undress uniform of Ans. 
trian General Ofiicers. But a month since, and the English War-Ministry adopted a grey 
uniform for their Light Infantry and Rifles, very similar to that of the Austrian Cacciatori, 
or Sharpshooters. 

Iron-grey, the coat lighter than the trousers, would make a very handsome uniform for 
our generals and staff-oSicers, and at once distinguish them from the regulars of equal 
grades. As it is abroad, accustomed constantly to see the uniform of the United States 
Army and Navy, it is impossible for foieigu officers to appreciate the trifling cbangea 

r 



164 BIOGRAPnif OF MAJOB-GENERAL PIHLIP HEAE^sTT. 

founded on what he had observed at the grand Austrian reviews. 
He laid particular stress upon the rapidity with which the powder 
smoke swallowed up lines in gvey, and rendered them mvisible to 
au antagonistic force. That this was the fact had previously been 
shown by experience and statistics. 

In 1859 and 1860, Kearny resided in Europe, and in the latter 
year Edwin de Leon, "late confidential agent of the Confederate 
Department of State in Em'ope," in his "Secret History of Confede- 
i-ate Diplomacy Abroad," admits that Keaeny rendered important 
service to the Loyal North while in Paris. This is his language : 
"While the interregnum in the diplomatic representations lasted, 
by the lagging on the stage of the reluctant veterans of Mr. Bdch- 
anan's Ministers, before the new ones had anived to represent the 
views and wishes of Mr. Lincoln's administi-ation, one Minister 
made Imnself wonderfully active, at both the English and French 
foreign offices ; and in other places where public opinion was to be 
influenced- This was Mr. Sanfokd, then, as now, Minister to Bel- 

which designate the State service This often places a State oiScer in an unpleasant posi- 
tion, and renders a long and embarrassing explanation necessary, unless he wishes to 
practice deception and sail under false colors. 

Over and above the many cogent reasons urged, • ♦ the following addi- 

tional recommendations may not be without weight. At morning and evening twilight; 
in foggy, muggy, and rainy weather, a body of men thus clothed would be undistinguish- 
able at a very short distance, and amid the smoke of battle they would be swallowed up 
at once in the clouds of kindred hue. Grey and yellow, or gold, form the richest dress in 
the world; without bullion, it is the cheapest, taking into consideration its serviceability, 
it is national to a great degree, and last, not least certainly, it is the least fatal to its wearer. 
Grey, it is stated, was the uniform of the English troops in the reign of William III., 
and is now again adopted by the Light Infantry on account of its suitableness for corps 
exposed to practiced marksmen, and, themselves, assigned to the dangerous duty of sharp- 
shooters. It is now worn by the Austrian riflemen, and good reasons must have dictated 
the choice, for it was not appropriate to any province of the Empire. 

"It would appear, from numerous observations, that soldiers are hit, during battle, 
according to the color of their dress, in the following order: Eed, the most fatal ; ('■'■our 
scarlet is more distinguishable than any other color (Batty's " Campaign of 1815, 
page 160); the least fatal, Austrian grey. The proportions are: red, 12/ rifle-green 
7 / brown 6 ; Austrian bluish-grey, 5." (Jameson's Journal, No. 105.) 

General Philip Kearnt stated that, during a sham fight he saw at Prague, in Bohemia, 
in 1851, in which seventeen thousand men, with thirty-four pieces of ai-tillery and a rocket 
brigade were engaged, he was particularly struck with the admirable fitness of the gret 
DRESS of the Austrian riflemen, of which a full battalion, about one thousand, were act- 
ing as skirmishers ; at times invisible, when the powder-smoke rolled over the field, dis- 
appearing in its curling clouds on account Of the similarity of their uniform, and again 
appearing when least expected like phantoms, as the breeze, aided by the movements of 
the combatants, drove aside the sulphurous canopy. He added, he was astonished at the 
facility with which they were lost to view, and that uniforms of grey cloth, for riflomen, 
had not been maintained in this as well as in every other country where military propriety 
orappropriateness of dress is the object of constant and scrupulous attention." Brigadier 
General di Pbtsteb's Beport of 1852 ; Ecladbbdk 11, page 31. 



BIOGEAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 165 

gium, but who gave himself a roving commission, and worked in- 
defatigably, some said obtrusively, on the Northern side. So om- 
nipresent and so brisk was he in his movements, that some wicked 
wag dubbed him — ^the ' Diplomatic Flea ;' and though perhaps open 
to the charge of over-zeal, or officiousness, he certainly was one of, 

if not the most efficient advocate of the Northern cause in Europe. 
« « » 

" Generate Fremont, who was then in Europe, also threw the 
whole weight of his name and influence on the Northern side, as 
did also Gen. Phil Kearny, whose social qualities had given Jiim^ 
influence in certain circles in France. The great horde of Ameri- 
cans resident abroad possessed but little weight or influence, either 
£'om intelligence, culture or distinction of any kind. They were 
chiefly peo^Dle of good incomes, who left home because they found 
themselves — or imagined themselves (good) — of more consequence 
abroad; and at the commencement of the war it was rather 
then- style (!) to afi^ect sympathy with the Southerners, as representing 
the more aristocratic side" (better). 

It is very curious, but equally true, that in whatever character, 
Kearny undertook to shine, he always played his pai't well ; his 
hospitality was princely, his equipages and horses inferior to none 
in style, beauty, and qualities. His taste was chaste and elegant, 
and in his appreciation of the beauties of natm-e, nothing could ex- 
ceed his delight in them or his judgment in the selection of points 
of view. Since his resignation in 1851, his wanderings were worthy 
of a more lengthy notice, for he reveled in perils, in the gi'atifica- 
tion of his instincts, from which the majority of even the boldest 
men would have shrunk, or at all events, have but rarely indulged 
then- fancies. It is very unfortunate, as noted more than once be- 
fore, that his correspondence between 1851 and 1861 seems to have 
entirely perished, since Kearny wrote well, and described what he 
saw concisely but with a peculiar force, which rendered his descrip- 
tions " word-pictm-es." Had he ever wi'itten a book, it would have 
been a gallery of word-pictures, for, as he often declared, the peoj3le 
of our day demand and will not be satisfied with any other style 
of wi'iting. ' 

Thus, all the pains possible have been taken, to follow the hero 
of this sketch thi-oughout all his various wanderings, and it is to bo 
regretted, for the sake of the readei*, that so few data from the hand 
of Kearny have rewai'ded the diligent search made for them. 



166 BIOGRAPHY OP MA JOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Judging from what has been preserved, or what still lingers on the 
memory, they would have amply repaid penisal, and his letters 
alone, edited with care and judgment, would have constituted in 
themselves not only an agreeable and instructive book, but, like 
Michelet's "Life of Luther" — constructed almost entirely from 
his correspondence — would have presented the best word-portrait 
of Kearny, and the most attractive and satiafkptQiy luatory of his 
remarkable career. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859. 

KEARNY AT SOLFERLNO. 

♦• In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watched, 

And heard thee murmur tales of iron war ; 

Speak terms of manage to thy bounding steed ; 

Cry, courage 1 to the field 1 and thou hast talk'd 

Of sallies and retires ; of trenches, tents, 

Of pallisadoes, frontiers, parapets ; 

Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin. 

Of prisoners ransomed, and of soldiers slain, 

And all the current of a heady fight" 

Shakspbabb's "Hbnbt IV." 
/ 
'• The shining images of war are fled, 

The fainting trumpets languish in my ear. 

The banners f url'd, and all the springtly blazo 

Of bumish'd armor, like the setting sun. 

Insensibly it vanished from my thought" 

, Tottnq's "Busmifl." 

Paris, 14th July, 1859. 

" Mt two months' absence has been all that a military man could 
have desired — a school of such grandeui' as rarely occurs, even here 
in the Old World — and the drama has been complete. 

"Leaving Paris the day after" (10th June) "the emperor, I 
ai'rived just two days before him (14th July). 

" I have roamed about everywhere, and in the day of Solferino, 
I was not only present with the line of our cavalry skirmishers, 
{but) as well in every charge that took place. That day I was 
mounted from six in the morning till eleven at night — scarcely oft' 
my horse even for a few minutes — depend on it, he was a good one. 
The cavaliy of the guai-d came up some sixteen miles in full trot 
and rapid gallop to take our places, under fire ; for there was a gap 
we had to stop. I remained until I saw the Mincio passed and 
Peschiera invested, and the whole Austrian army demoralized and 
broken up. 



168 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

"The night before the battle I had a mu-aculous escape, haviiig 
been inveigled by folse gnides into the midst of the Austrian masses.* 

" There are seven American officers following the Piedmontese 
army. I am going to the baths of Homburgh for awhile. Paris 
is very warm, more so than I have ever known it. My health has 
been excellent until I ai'rived home. "When at Turin I had a coiqy 
de soleil. 

" The peace has taken us by sui"prise — it is in consequence of 
some underhand and revolutionary moves of Count Cavour, which 
the emperor had to put a stop to. 

" Very truly, yours, "Phiix." 

When General Kearnt returned from Italy, while in conversation 
with the wi'iter, he expressed the utmost admu'ation for the French 
army, and then* doings at Solferino, he seemed to feel that the 
Austrians might have won the battle, or maintained their position, 
had they held out with greater tenacity or been aware of the condi- 
tion and dislocation of the Allies. The reader may remember that 
quite a stampede was reported, just as occun-ed at Wagram in 
1809, and according to the journals some of the French troops did 
not stop until they reached Brescia. The presence of Napoleon 
III. in front of Solferino, at the crisis, electrified the French, and 
a renewed attack, fed with fresh troops, cai-ried the keypoint of the 
Austrian position. Then, the scale long poised, declined, deciding 
the victory against Francis Joseph. 

The letter with which this chapter opens, written within tlu-ee 
weeks after the great battle to which it refers — a battle in which 
General Kearny so distinguished himself as to win (a second time) 
the ci'oss of the Legion ot Honor — covers the whole ground; tells 
the whole story. 

Kearny, like others of his race, was a very unequal man in his 
conversation. At times he was particularly reticent, and seldom 
prone to narrative. In referring to his military service, he usually 
alluded to it incidentally and as a means of illustrating a question 
under discussion, or to give point to an argument, rather than directly 
as a matter in which he was personally interested. 



* General Kbaent had just such another hair-breadth escape after Glendale, 30th June, 
1802, and at Chantilly, 1st September, 1S62, a similar plunge into the skirmish line or lines 
of the Rebels cost him his life. Doubtless, it was his previous immunity made Kearst 
f e<il that he bore a charmed life. 



^ 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 169 

It is very doubtful if he himself ever kept much, if any, record of 
his service.* When it pleased him to shine in conversation, he 
shone, but unless he chose to talk upon the subject of his own 
selection, under the spur of some immediately occurring excite- 
ment, he retu-ed within himself or chatted on indifferent subjects. 
This may have been real modesty, because he did not wish to seem 
to boast of what he had passed through. In this he very much re- 
sembled the Coimt Lippe, so often referred to as his foil. This is 
the principal reason, perhaps, why so little is known of ^he details, 
as for as regarded himself, of the great events in which he par- 
ticipated. 

To those who watched the course of operations in Northern 
Italy in 1859 with any interest, or remember what occurred in that 
momentous campaign of about two months and a half, it will be 
apparent that the Austrians in the initiative collisions — like the 
army of the Potomac in too many cases — were defeated rather 
tlii-ough the demerits of their own leaders ; through the meddling 
of the central government ; through the unusual wet- weather, and 
from the fact — which told so often against our forces in the South — 
that, as a rule, — certainly as long as they were west of Milan, and 
always as regarded the inhabitants of cities, towns, and large villages 
— they (the Austrians) were fighting in the midst of a population 
hostile to them, and friendly to the Allies — a population which did 
all they could to deceive the one, and assist the other with reliable 
information. 

General — then Major — Keaent was fully able to judge of the 
difficulties which attended the preliminary movements of the Aus- 
trians. The spring of 1859 was one of flooding rains and freshets, 
in a country more susceptible than almost any other to inundations. 
The Austrians were greatly blamed by those who pretended to be 
judges, as well as by the majority of q[mdnuncs, for not advancing 
at once to Turin and dictating terms to the King of Sardinia. This 
opinion is such as might be expected from parties not acquainted 
with the theatre of war.f Doubtless the Austrians might have 



* One of his friends, who served with him in Mexico, and afterwards associated with 
him in Paris, remarked in a letter— "Of his service in Algiers, I know but little; simply 
that he served as an officer in the French cavalry, I believe, and that is all. I doubt even 
whether he Himself ever kept much record of it." The same observation holds good to 
his whole career. 

\ Had the Sardinians fallen back on Genoa, and the French reinforcements landed at 
that port, the Allies could have taken the AustrionB in the rear, and the result would have 
been another Marengo. 



170 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

moved with moi-e energy, but that energy would have been incon- 
sistent with a methodical method of carrying on war according to 
principles and rules of strategy, with the disposition of the people? 
and with the constitutional characteristics and traditions of their 
army. Had they plunged forward into a country intersected by 
rivers and streams, Avhich in very rainy seasons overpass their 
bounds and convert whole districts into vast shallow lakes, the 
whole army might have been caught in a trap and so entii'ely ruined 
that the Allies could have blockaded their fortresses and taken pos- 
session of whatever they deemed expedient, or that the German 
Confederation would have permitted. 

The theatre of war on which the French and Sardinians first 
encountered the Austrians is said to be one which was seldom trav- 
ersed by tourists, but was visited by General Kearny in 1834, in 
just such a wet season as in 1859. The following remarks, com- 
piled from a jom-nal kept at that time, may be interesting to show 
the obstacles which imjieded the movements and operations of the 
Austrians without hampering the counter-operations of the Allies, 
whose lines of supply — raikoads and capital highways — ^both rest- 
ing on secure bases, were not affected by the same extraordinary 
difficulties as those of then* enemy. 

Kearny could thus judge from personal observations of the ter- 
rible impediments to military movements which result from long 
continued and excessive rain in the greater part of the basin or low- 
lands between Tmin and Milan.* 

In August, 1834, Kearny started from Genoa for Milan, intend- 
ing to cross the Simplon into Switzerland, but was compelled, on 
reading the Lago llagglbre, to tm-n back upon Turin, by way of 
Novara — where Radetszky defeated the Sardinians in 1 849. Heavy 
rains preceded and accompanied this journey. It is needless here 
to dwell upon the loveliness of the scenery thi'ough which he climbed 
to the summit of the Apennines, since the interest of the matter 
on hand begins with his arrival upon the monotonous plains of 
Lombardy, when the intervening summit shut out the last glimpses 
of the azure Mediterranean. Soon afterwards the party looked 
upon a turbid flood, or lagune, into which the overflo^\angs of the 
rivers had converted the level country as far as they could see. 

* Readers should bear in mind that the bed of the Po is mnch above the level of the 
snrrounding coiintr.y, and that this river like our Mississippi, is kept within bounds by 
dikes or, as we term them, leveea. 



I 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 171 

While amid the mountains they had echoed each other's admii'ation 
of the effects of a heavy thunder-storm — whose beneficial results in 
tempering the air rendered their ride the more delightful, while the 
reverberations rolling through the gorges seemed like answering- 
roars of parks of artillery — little dreaming that the consequences of 
storms, such as had broken upon them and varied the attractions 
of the journey, would render its prosecution impossible. As soon 
as the party came in sight of the Scrivia,they found that instead ol 
an insignificant, fordable stream, it was rushing furiously towards 
the Po, and had been converted into a Mississippi, covering the 
country for one league on either side of its usual channel ; the 
neighboring villages rising up in the midst like so many miniatures 
of Venice. Some distance beyond Novi, where the more elevated 
gi'ounds subside into the level, on the spot where Joubert was de- 
feated by Suw ARROW and slain, in 1799, Kearky's carriage met 
postilions who had just traversed the ground with the King of 
Wurtemberg. They informed him that many of the bridges were 
under water, and that they had been compelled to pass one at full 
gallop, fearing it would give way before they could get over. In 
many places the road was hub-deep ; the fertile fields were hidden 
beneath a tawny flood, and where it had subsided from an even still 
greater previous rise, slime and sand, brought down from the 
mountains, disfigured theu- cultivation. Turning aside towards 
Alexandi'ia, the driver sought to avoid the inundation by a more 
elevated detour and by a country road, but found that he had not 
bettered his condition, so directed his horses again towards Tortona, 
where the bridge was still practicable. The situation was by no 
means satisfactory, and Kearnt's party were actually stunned by 
the exaggerated accounts of the freshet. Arrived at the Bridge of 
Tortona it was with difficulty the travellers were permitted to pass. 
Theirs was the last carriage over, and j)rints in the wi-iter's posses- 
sion at this day are stained with the muddy water which invaded 
the trunks on the rack behind and under the box in front. En- 
gineers m charge of the long bridge across the Scrivia — about one 
thousand feet in length — were in doubt if it had not already yielded 
somewhat to the violence of the stream, which, as the tomists hm*- 
ried across, roared against the abutments, and wet them with its 
foam. It was no agreeable promenade, for at intervals the strue- 
tm-e, which must have been very strong to resist the cm-rent, 
trembled beneath the shock of trees and timber, brought down 



173 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

a^inst it, as if they had been so many battering rams. Beyond the 
river, the causeway was knee-deep with water, running so violently 
that it was difficult at times to keep straight ahead. The bed of the 
Scrivia at low water is a vast waste of gravel over 1,200 feet ^vide; 
the stream itself being ordinarily from 300 to 400 feet in width." 

The night Keakxy arrived at Tortona the waters subsided, and 
thaace to Milan the route was uninterrupted. This shows hov/ 
fiuddenly the affluents of the Po swell, overflow, and subside. A3 
regards the Po itself, a Piedmontese soldier, engaged as a servant, 
related that while encamped with several battalions upon the upper 
I)art of that river, it rose so suddenly in one afternoon, that had 
not the commanding-general received notice of its menacing aspect 
from a peasant, the whole force must have been overtaken in the 
night and many drowned. 

From Tortona the road continued through a low country, inter- 
sected by many torrents, whose passage always presents dangers in 
rainy seasons. The trees and crops were ever present proofs of the 
wetness of the rank, although fecund, soil, which is scarcely drained 
by a network of canals. At the willow-gi'own, marsh-bordered 
Po, the travelers found the country people repamng a bridge of 
boats, four of which, together with a mill, had been carried away 
by the freshet. Both the Po and Ticino were so swollen at this 
time that they seemed almost impassable barriers to the move- 
ments of any large body of troops. 

Continuing the journey on northwards from Milan, along the 
Olona and Ticino, Ke\rxy and his friends arrived at Arona, only 
to find the town so invaded by the Lago Maggiore that they were 
forced to go ashore from the carriage as from a boat, by means of 
a plank resting upon a sill of the Hotel della Posta. Here they 
learned that the passage of 'the Simplon was impossible ; that rains 
liad occasioned such destruction that bridges and whole \dllage8 
had been swept away ; and the party were actually compelled to re- 
trace then' steps towards Turin, to get across the Alps by Mount 
Cenis. 

Kearny was now about to traverse the very ground fought over 
by the pi*esent belligerents, which had been the arena of the world 
since Hannibal halted under the immense cypress of Somraa, said 
to be two thousand five hundred years of age, under which Kearny 
had stood a day previous. This wonderful tree, one of the largest of 
its species known, stands on the field on which (B.C. 217) that great 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 173 

Strategist of the -world defeated the drenched and half-frozen legions 
of SciPio, for the contest took place in winter. Twenty-thi-ee feet in 
girth, it rises to the height of one hundred and twenty-one. Han- 
nibal reposed under it, Julius Cesar visited it, and Napoleox i-e- 
spected it, altering his road to spare such a living monument of tlie 
past. 

From Arona, Kearny traveled through Oleggio to Novara, whose 
fortifications, once so important, were, in 1834, partially dismantled. 
Between this place and Oleggio, the road was bordered by ric3 
fields and swamps, which render the country cold and unhealthy to 
its population, and mortal to strangers. Thence to Tm-inthe coun- 
try changed its character, and became at times woody, varied, and 
attractive. 

Having thus traversed the western portion of the fighting gi-ound 
of 1859, Kearny knewfi'om actual sm-vey that it was not wonderful 
that so little had been accomplished by the Austrians. The best proof 
of the admirable engineering of the invaders was, that thej^ did 
move theu" hundred thousand troops and maintain them in a coun- 
try which, in a rainy season, resembles the bottomless lands of the 
Netherlands, and is often converted into a district as much the do- 
minion of water as of solid ground. 

Such were the difficulties which the Austrians had to encounter 
when hostilities commenced, or rather, at the only time when a 
forward movement could have placed them in the "heart of the Sar- 
dinian territory, and made them, with energy and generalship, 
masters of the situation. As American readers, however, will 
doubtless take but little interest in a campaign which, grand as it 
was, was dwarfed by our own gi-eat civU war of fom* years, and by 
the " Seven Weeks' War," in which Prussia inflicted a much more 
overwhelming defeat, at Sadowa, in 1866, upon Austria, than that 
of Solferino, in 1859, the following remarks will be confined to the 
principal collisions along the route upon Vi^hich the Emperor, the 
Imperial Guard, and, consequently, Kearny operated. 

The following table of comparative chronology of the events of 
the two campaigns in Italy, 1800 and 1859, conducted by the two 
Emperors, Napoleon I. (while First Consul) and Napoleon IH., 
may be of interest, although there is no comparison between them 
as to the ability shown. The campaign of 1800 was a stroke of 
genius, based upon a plan, to which three, if not four of the finest 
military minds in Em-ope, Capj^ot, Moreau, Marescot, and 



174 BIOGRAPHY OP MA^OR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

Buoy AP ARTE, contribiited their ideas. Several generals of gi*eat 
ability co-operated with the suggestion of their especial experiences ; 
among these latter, Marmoxt, to whom was due the successful 
transportation of the artillery across the Alps. The campaign of 
1859 displayed no genius, but a great amount of brilliant and des- 
perate fighting, in which the talents of experienced officers could 
be brought to bear with combined power under the direction of a 
supreme authority, endowed with uncommon common-sense,* or the 
faculty of profiting to the utmost by the peculiar gifts of counsellors 
and subordinates. 

Kearny joined the French army at Alexandria, and there, with 
his usual liberality, gave a grand dinner to the cfficers with whom 
he was associated — what the medieval war-hero mignt have termed a 
"festival of swords," but those of the pi*esent era must more appropri- 
ately style the " festival of missiles." As Kearny was attached to the 
Cavalry of the Guard, he took no personal part in the subordinate 
engagements, although he was an eye-witness of all that opportunity 
pei-mitted, and a keen observer of the events of the compaign. An 
American gentleman who accompanied him to Italy, writes tliat 
even " in Paris, he (Kearny) was much distinguished for the accu- 
racy of his knowledge of military affiiirs, and his acquaintance with 
the strategy of the modern wars." With these facts established, 
what a pity it is that his correspondence from Italy in 1859, has 
disappeared beyond recovery, in an equal degree with the rejiort 
of his experiences under the same flag in Algiers in 1840. 

* " Sound sense is better than abilities."— Wellington, 8th August, 1813. " Comniou 

sense is superior to genius." — Pascal. 

1800. 18.19. 

May 6th.— Napoleon I.— First Consul left May 10th.— Napoleon left Paris. 

Paris for Geneva. " 13th.— His arrival at Genoa. 

" 14th-20th.— French Army crossed Mount " 15th.— Napoleok III. at Alexandria 

St. Bernard. with his army. One hundred 

" 20th.— Napoleon I. crossed Mount St and fifty thousand French in 

Bernard. Italy. 

** aist. — Sixty thousand French in Lorn- " 20th. — ^Battle of Montebello. 

liardy. T'„'r.o^i!t' r Engagements at Palestro. 

June 2d.— Napoleon I. entered Milan. oune ist. ) 

*♦ 9th.— Battle of Montebello, in the Pass " 4th.— Battle of Magenta. 

of the Stradella. " 7th.— Napoleon III. entered Milan. 

•• 14th —Battle of Marengo. Death of " 9th.— Combat of Melegnano, havin? 

Desaix. conquered Lombardy In forty 

** 15th.— Convention of Alexandria, hav- days, dating from the day he 

ing reconquered Italy in forty joined the arr /. 

days. " 24th.— Battle of Solferino. 

July 3d-3d.— Napoleon I. back in Paris. July 10th.— Peace of Villa Franca. 

" 16th.— Napoleon III. back in PariB. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 175 

Notwithstanding the discipline of the opposing armies, which 
ought to have been perfect if mere drill could ensure perfection, 
the fact is worthy of note, that the Austrians, two hundred and 
fifty thousand strong, appeared to have no settled plan, and in 
almost every case the antagonists happened to meet " when no 
general battle was expected," just as the Federals and Rebels ran 
into each other at Gettysburg. Montebello resulted from a recon- 
noissance on the i3a,rt of the Austrians ; Magenta grew out of a 
combination of accidental circumstances, as far as its magnitude 
was concerned ; and Solferino likewise. This is the view of one 
who followed the armies, who constantly refers to the " strange 
tactics of the Allies," "the slackness of pursuit ;" remarks that they 
" did what they had done all along — advanced in the track of the 
Austrians," and compares this " advance," which ought to have 
been a sharp following-up of a worsted enemy, to " a military 
promenade in a rich country, by easy stages, not yet too hot," and 
in another place, "to an agi'eeable promenade in the park." The 
strategical movements, as regarded time, might be set down as 
"perfect failures." 

Throwing aside the skirmishes and actions, which actually had 
little or no effect upon the main campaign, there were only three 
battles fought. 

In the first, Montebello — 20th May — the Allies had every reason 
to plume themselves on the result. It was a fiiir stricken field, and 
the Austrians were worsted in their trials, with every arm, and in 
every position. 

This first action occun-ed upon a theatre whose gloi-ious recollec- 
tions must have inspired a people much less alive to such impres- 
sions than the French with almost invincible corn-age. It was 
upon the same field of Montebello that Lannes and Victor, on the 
9th June, 1800, defended the Pass of Stradella, a strategic key- 
point, against the Austrians, and enabled the French forces to con- 
centrate for the battle of Marengo, fought five days afterwards. 
This victory was due more to Desaix — who purchased it with his 
life — and in a lesser degree to Kellermak, the younger, and Mak- 
MONT, than to Napoleon I. The latter could not agree for many 
years, either upon what took place or even what he wanted to 
appear should have taken place. The defeat of the Austrianfj, 
however, whether due to Desaix or to Napoleon, gave the whole 
of Piedmont, Lombardy, and the Milanese into the hands of the 



176 BIOGRAPIir OP MAJOR-GENEllAL PHILIP KEAJMJJ. 

French, and as Kellerman said upon tlie field, of his charge, it 
placed the Imperial Crown upon the head of the first Napoleon, 
whose nephew and successor was awaiting the issue of the conflict 
of Montebello at almost the same distance from the immediate field 
of action as his uncle fifty-nine years previously. 

The credit of this victory, won 20th May, 1859, although it must 
be shared with the Sardinian cavalry, whose chai'ges were brilliant, 
was due in a great measure to General Forey, who had fallen, in 
some degree, under the displeasure of Louis Napoleon in the 
Crimean campaign. This General amply redeemed himself Ameri- 
cans wall remember him for his capture of Puebla in Mexico, 16th- 
19th May, 1863, for which he was raised to the dignity of 
Marshal. 

Montebello was a battle of charges and counter-charges — very 
much of the same stamp as Ligny, 1815, Avhich was won by hard 
fighting. This contest is, moreover, remarkable from the fact that 
the French reinforcements — like those of the Rebels under Kirbt 
Smith, whose arrival decided the first battle of Bull Run, 21st July, 
1861, In their favor — were brought to the very field in rail- 
road trains, and that the troops actually commenced a desultoiy 
fire upon the enemy from the windows of the cars. 

The battle of Palestro, although creditable to the Sardinians and 
their King, and to the Zouaves, was comparatively a side issue. 

At Magenta the grapple was long and doubtful. As at Torgau, 
in 1760, as at Marengo in 1800, the Austrian commander-in-chief 
telegraphed in mid-battle the gain of a victory. Everything turned 
upon the profitable employment of time. As at Aspern in 1809, 
the question was purely one of capacity to follow up a success. 
The slow Austrian was again no match for the quick Frenchman, 
who profited by the respite. Moreovei', the Austrians lacked such 
men as our Ingalls to supply them. They displayed great intre- 
pidity, but they fought on empty stomachs. The French brought 
up fresh troops on decisive points, and hurled them upon troops 
physically and morally exhausted, and so, throughout the history 
of the two nations, immense battle-fields were decided at particular 
points by mere fractions of the hosts engaged. For a long time 
the result was very doubtful. General McMahon, created Marshal 
and Duke of Magenta, " saved the French army," and decided the 
victory, which was scarcely a victory, if the Austrians, according 
to custom, had not abandoned the field before the question was 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOIl-GEi^UAL PHILIJP KEAKNY. 177 

wholly fought out. The moment they commenced to retire the 
effect was the same as though they had been thoroughly defeated. 

At Solferino — 24th June — at one time affairs went very much 
as at om- first Uull Run, while the hard fighting lasted, and the 
slightest inclination in the scales of fortime, either one way or the 
other, might have decided the result differently. As at Wagram, 
in 1809, a panic was reported in the rear of the French. General 
Keakny always said, while he exalted to the skies the courage and 
conduct of the French, that it was a " touch and go " matter, and 
that if the advantages enjoyed by the Austrians had been duly 
employed as they should have been, the victory must have remained 
with them. It was very much like Gettysburg, with a different 
result. The Austrians occupied a fine position, and if the hearts 
of their men had been in theu' work, as those of' the Army of the 
Potomac were, four years afterwards, in their work, Italy would not 
now be a United Kingdom. 

The French were altogether as confident and determined as the 
Rebels ; then* heart was in the business before them, and they 
triumphed. Had our troops held the heights of Solferino, the 
superiority of the men would have compensated for the inferiority 
of their leaders. Solferino realized the remark of Mnjor-General 
Beciovitii, B. a., a Waterloo veteran: "That eveiy battle comes 
down to the last ten minutes, and that army wins which has ten 
minutes the most fight in it." Keaeny, throughout life, always 
seemed to have not only the decisive ten minutes fight in him, but 
ten minutes more to spare. Had the Austrians fought at Solferino 
as the English at Inkerman, " a soldier's fight," as the English com- 
mraider admits, the French would not have had the ghost of a 
chance. 

This, the decisive battle of the campaign, in many respects 
resembled our third day's fight of Gettysburg, provided the ridge 
Ave occupied had formed a comparatively staight line of ten or 
twelve miles, instead of a fish-hook of not over five miles in the 
extent of its cmwe. The Sardinians occupied the same relative 
position as the corps of the rebel Eweix ; Benedeck's corps repre- 
senting our extreme right on Gulp's Hill. 

Benedeck was posted not far from Lonato, where the first Bona- 
PAETE, on the 3d August, 1796, signalized himself by frightening 
four thousand Austrians into laying down their arms to a detachment 
of about twelve hmidred French. The knowledge of this exploit 



liS BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

must have steeled the nerves of the Sarcliniaris — many of whose 
forefathers served under Napoleon I — to an intrepidity akin to sut h 
high-soiiled determination. Castiglione, a little to the northwest 
of Solferino, was the scene of one of the French Republican vic- 
tories of the same date as the preceding. This is credited to 
Napoleon, but in reality was due to Augereau. When Bona- 
PAKTE "spoke only of retiring across the Po, it was on the earnest 
remonstrance of Augeeeau that the resolution of marching against 
the enemy Avas adopted." Augereau's resolution led to the vic- 
tories of Lonato and Castiglione, and when that General was made 
a Marshal and a Duke, his title was derived from the latter, the 
fii>ld of his victory. Here again the Austrian s threw up the game 
before it was decided, and theii' subsequent retreat proclaimed the 
triumph of the French. 

The Heights of Solferino were to the Austrians what the prolon- 
gation of Cemetery Ridge — where Webb met the shock and fuiy 
of the top high-tide Avave of the " Slaveholder's Rebellion " — Avas 
to the Army of the Potomac. 

Pickett's charge was a repitition of the onset of the Foot Chas- 
seurs and Volunteers of the Imperial Guard, which succeeded, 
captured the key-point, pierced the Austrian center, and decided 
the battle. Pickett failed for the very reason that Manesque suc- 
ceeded. The Army of the Potomac saved itself Intuitively the 
Union troops streamed to the menaced point to feed the fight. On 
the contrary, the Austrians did not reinforce or replace the ex- 
hausted defenders of Solferino. Then- army went to ruin in con- 
sequence, just as the Army of Northern Virginia would have gone 
to ruin then and there on that 3d July afternoon, had Picketts' 
repulse been followed up with energy ; fully justifying the remark of 
the rebel sympathizer, the British Colonel Freemantle : 

"It is difficult to exaggerate the critical state of aifairs as they 
appeared about this time. If the enemy, or their general, had 
shown any enterprise, there is no saying what might have happened. 
General Lee and his officers were evidently fully impressed with a 
sense of the situation." 

In this battle the Austrian cavalry played the same part as 
BuFORD in the disastrous fight of Oak Ridge, 1st July, 1863. 
"John Buford, to your honor let it ever be remembered, that with 
your caA'alry division of 2200 men (A. B. J. 152) you held at bay one- 
third of Lee's army until the Fu'st Corps came up ; fought in support 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, 179 

of the infantry all through that sultry summer day; and when all 
seemed to have gone to wreck, you presented such an imposing 
front to the successful enemy, as enabled the beaten troops to 
establish themselves on Cemetery Ridge ! " The steadfast front of 
Buford's cavalry in the flat to the left of our position, deterred the 
enemy from pursuing." 

The Austrian cavalry exhibited the same self-sacrificing devotion. 
The Brigade Mensdorff* boldly advanced into the plain of Medole, 
on the Austrian left, to draw the fire of the French artillery upon 
it, and thus to extricate the Austrian artillery — subjected to a front 
and flank fire — from the awkward position in which it found itself. 
The cavalry succeeded in this act of noble devotion, and accom- 
plished its object, although at a heavy loss. 

About 2 p. M. the cavalry of the Imperial Guard, under IMokris, 
to whose stafi" Kearny was attached, came up to relieve the Second 
Corps, McMahon, fill the gap left by the advance of that corps, 
and connect the Fourth Corps, under Marshal IsTiel, Avith the Third, 
under Canrobert. This advance of this magnificent body of horse 
was represented in a spirited sketch from the pencil of M. R. de la 
GiRONNERRiE, Lieutenant in the Dragoons of the Empress Eugenie, 
published in the Paris '■'■ Illustration." They came up. Chasseurs, 
Dragoons, Lancers, Cuirassiers, in column of squadrons, having 
accomplished six leaguesf at full trot or gallop, in the midst of hor- 
rible clouds of dust, across a countiy very " impracticable " for cav- 
alry, and assumed a position in front of the Austrian infantry. 
These last attempted to make a break when the Light Brigade of 
Chassem-s d'Afrique and Guides were let loose upon them. At 

* (See RcEMER, page 22 ) There was an Austrian Colonel, Mensdorff, who, in Sep- 
tember, 1813, clistirguishcd himself at the head of a body of cavalry, hovering upon all the 
French communications between Dresden, Leipsic, and Torgau." — Gusts' Wars. 2, 4, 107. 
Could this be the same man, still a bold dragoon, and, like Radetzky, an enterprising 
leader, in a green old age, 

t This was nothing to the exploits of the Mounted Troops of the " inimitable Torsten- 
80N." (Stuart's History of Infantry, page 8o.) "Will the cavalry of the present day 
march fifteen miles" (German; sixty to seventy-five English) "and fight a battle, as did 
the cavalry of Torstenson in 10-15 (23d November, 1044,) at luterbok." ('Steinmetz's 
Uusketry Instruction for the Cavalry Carbine and Pistol, page 14). For this buttle of 
luterbok, see J. W. de P's Torstenson, page 111. What made the achievement of the 
Swedish Cavalry the more wonderful, they performed this march " on one fodder" f Tor- 
stenson to Wrangel, 24th November, 1644), and nothing saved even the remnant of the 
Imperialists, which escaped, but the complete exhaustion of the victor's animals. Near 
Juterbok (At.ison, iv. 152, I,), ;he Prussian Landwehr. many armed with pikcw (Schkrr'3 
Bluciier, iii. 13S-40), gave the "bravest of the brave," Net, a thorough beating, and 
placed the name of Bulow of Dennewitz in the rank of Prussia's greatest heroes. 



180 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the same time General Morris supported this movement with his 
Lancers, Dragoons, and Cuirassiers. The Austrian infantry were 
completely overthrown, as well as the Dragoons of the Austrian 
Imperial Guard and the Hungarian Hussars, reputed the finest 
cavalry in Europe, who attempted to save their comrades on foot. 
AVhen the order was despatched to the Chasseurs dAfrique to 
make their brilliant onset above referred to — likewise depicted by the 
Chevalier Giaccobielij in the " Illusti'otion" — Kearny requested 
permission from General Morris to go forward and witness this 
charge of his old comrades of Africa. Kearny had beheld how 
tliey charged the Kabyles and Arabs ; he wanted to see if 
they could scatter and slaughter the Austrians in a like peculiar 
way.* " When the charge took place he (Kearny) participated in 
it, holding his bridle in his teeth, with his characteristic iinpetic- 
osity." "Among the officers in this charge I can only remember " 
— continues the letter of a Boston gentleman who accompanied 
Kearny to Italy — " Jerome Bonaparte Patterson," a West Point 
graduate, and American, from Baltimore. " Twenty-seven officers 
and non-commissioned officers were among the killed and wounded " 
of the Chasseurs. A relative, formerly an officer United States 
Dragoons, adds, that " General Morris slightly reproved Kearny " 
for thus allowing his ardor to carry him away, but, as Kearny says 
in his own letter that he " Avas not only present with the line of our 
(French) cavalry skirmishers, but as well in every charge that took 
place," the reproof was doubtless that of a fond father-, who, fearing 
the loss of a daring boy, reproves the act in such an evident tone 
of admiration as to nerve and stimulate to greater deeds of daring 
gallantry. This brief reference to Kearny, filled out by his own 
sententious avowal, constitutes him a grand figvu'e in the glorious 
participation of the Cavalry of the French Imperial Guards in the 
tremendous conflict of Solferino. It shows that an American Vol- 
unteer played his part with sufficient distinction and audacity to 
attract the attention and win the applause of an army of which it 
was remarked, in one of their previous invasions of Italy, that they 
marched to death with as gay a disregard of life as if they had the 
assm-ance of rising again from the dead to renew the struggle the 

»= The French Cavalry " did little or nothing on that occasion " (the Italian War of 1859). 
The French Cavalry was positively wasted on the march, rendered unfit for action, and 
rciluced to insignificant dimensions. (Steikmetz, 21-2, "IN'iscellanees Militaires, by Gen- 
eral Grand, President of the Cavalry Commission at the French War Office, p. 20.") 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 181 

next day, or like the ancient British who "made then* boast 
that, they exposed their bare bosoms and white tunics to the lances 
and swords of the men at arms with as much confidence as if they 
had been born invulnerable." 

It is very curious that the Austrians contemplated the \ery 
movement which Meade, according to Wakren, had in view on 
the 2d July at Gettysburg, to tiirn the rebel flank, and that the 
rebels actually attempted, 2d July, p. m., when so signally checked 
by Sickles. In both cases, Gettysburg and Solferino, the idea of 
turning was abandoned, and the affair came down to a parallel 
figitt, culminating in an attempt to pierce the center, which in the 
former case tailed, and in the latter case succeeded. 

Thus General Kearny, who had commenced his education for a 
general's command in Africa, with the study of a war with light 
troops, and took his next lessons in the Mexican war in grand tactics 
and strategy — most beautifully carried out in Turenne style, although 
on a small scale as regarded numbers — completed his course of in- 
struction in a campaign on the gi-andest scale, since the Allies and 
the Austrians brought on the battle-field at Solferino almost, if not 
altogether, double the numbers engaged on our side or the Rebels" 
in any battle during the "Slaveholders' Rebellion." It is true that 
the numbers we had on paper at Chancellorsville and at the Wil- 
derness approached somewhat those of the opposing armies at Sol- 
ferino. A great proportion of these could be as little counted as 
actually engaged, as the corps of 20,000 men under Jerome Na- 
poleon, which was on the march towards the scene of conflict on 
the Mincio (1859), or the army of the Archduke John at the epoch 
of Wagram, 1809.* Had the latter brought his forces into action, as 
he could have done with ease had he intended so to do, their co-op- 
eration would have settled the fate of the First Napoleon, and obvi- 
ated all the horrors of 1812, especially at Borodino and the Bere- 
sina; of 1813, particularly at Leipsic; of 1814, and of 1815, at 
Waterloo. 

R(jiMER in his charming book " On Cavalry" says, that all the 
actions of the campaign of 1859 were decided by bayonet charges.! 
This would have been totally impossible in our war, for the charging 

* "An Austrian anny, to the end of time, will never cease to be procrastinatin!]:."' 

(Gusts' Waks, 2<i Series, iv., S3. 
+ Rc^imer's " Cavalry ; its History, Management, and Uses in War." Chap. iii. 113.- 
115, etc. 



/ 



182 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

column, if of any extent of front, would have been annihilated at 
a distance by the artillery or musketry fire. This is proved by the 
(our) medical returns. Hancock's charge at Williamsburgh, of 
which so much was said at the time, was a myth.* McClellan re- 
ported it as he reported everything. His system of laudation was 
nothing more than a part and parcel of his system of self-deception, 
an exuberance of kind-heartedness. In his injustice (charged in 
Kearny's letters in 1861-2, and from the Peninsula), if nothing 
else, he did resemble Napoleon. Hancock should not object to 
having the truth told about Williamsburgh. He is a brilliant sol- 
dier, and can aiford to discard laurels not actually won, since he 
is entitled to so many which he did win fairly and magnificently. 
Kearny's military education was now complete. He had pre- 
pared himself thoroughly for a general's command. How he dis- 
charged the duties of that position when called uj)on, the country 
well knows. 

For his brilliant soldiership in the campaign of Solferinc, 
Kearny received the Cross of the " Legion of Honor"! from the 
French Emperor. He was very proud of this distinction, because 
he was the Jirst Americaa who had ever been thus honored for 
military service. 

Little did Kea'Iiny dream when he saw one hundred and forty 
thousand to one bundled and fifty thousand French and Sardinians, 
mai-shalled along a front of ten to twelve miles, that he would live 
to see within three years one million five hundi'ed thousand free 

* His first laurels were gained at Williamsburg : but the story of a celebrated charge 
that gave him the day's applause and McClellan's encomium of the "superb Hancock,' 
was altogether fictitious. The musket, not the bayonet, gave him the victory." '^Catn. 
palgns of a Non-combatant," by Geo. Alfred Townsend, 18G6, page 73.) Compare 
DB Trobriand, I. 201 ; Capt, Blake, 84, &c. 

t It has been stated, and the statement has been repeated by American writers, and a 
French military author, also, who ought to have knox^Ti whether the fact was so or not, 
that Philip Kearny received the Cross of the Legion Honor from Louis Philippe, for 
his gallantry in Algiers in (1839 ?) 1840. The writer is of opinion that this is partly a fact and 
partly an error. Kearnt was at that time an officer in the military service of the United 
States, and consequently could not accept any foreign decoration. That the story is cur- 
rent, and has been repeated by a gentleman who had ample opportunities of knowing the 
truth, renders it very probable that Loms Philippe, on the recommendation of his sons, 
the Duke or Orleans, who commanded a division and corps, with whom Kearny served 
in Africa, and the Duke d'Aumale, who served with the very regiment to which Kearny 
was attached, offered Kearny the cross, which his military obligations to the United 
States compelled him to refuse. Kearny was too modest a man to mention such a fact 
himself, but doubtless this is a true explanation of the case. Although he was the first 
American who ever received the Cross of Honor for military servicct was he the first 
who received it for gallantry in action f 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 183 

Americans of the North, marshalled along a line of fifteen hundred 
miles against from five hundi'ed thousand to one million supporters 
of slavery and theii* savage allies. Much less did he dream when 
he sato the confusion which reigned at times in the vast trains ac- 
companying the French army and sometimes precluded the advance 
of troops, when rapid movements were indispensable to decisive suc- 
cess, that he would see armies, as great as om*s, fed with the regu- 
larity of a family ; and that same Rufus Ingali.s — who fitted out his 
little expedition against the Rogue River Indians in 1851 — in 1861 
-5 feeding the Ai-my of the Potomac, and moving trains more 
numerous than those of the Allies, over roads so bad that no Euro- 
pean quartermaster could conceive their badness, with almost the 
certainty of a well regulated machine. Kearny could appreciate 
and exemplify the nobility and extent of American courage. He 
was yet to leai*n the scope and grandeur of American intelligence 
as applied to logistics or military intendancy, in which the French 
were hitherto supposed to excsl all other nations. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

<^THE TYPE VOLUNTEER GENERAL OF THE WAR." 

"Dciin Blitze Gottes spruhte dein Blick ! dein Ruf 
War Donner ! Siegeszeichen dein Federbusch ! 

Dein Arm War Sturm ! Dein Schwert den Deutschen 
Leiteuder, tilgender Strahl dem Fcinde ! " 

Stoleerg's " Ode to Blucher." 

"A Governor not too tm-perfect would have recognized this GusxAVUS, 
■what his purposes and likelihoods were ; the feelinf^ would have been, checked hy 
due circumspectness, ' Up, my men! .let its follow tJiis man ; let us live and 
die in the cause this man goes for. Live otherwise with honor^ or die other- 
wise with honor, we cannot, in the pass things have come to.'' " 

CARYLE'S FEEDEEIC THE Geeat, I., 249. 

"And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far 
Ancestral voices prophecying war." Coleridge. 

" In native swords and native ranks 
The only hope of safety dwells." Byron. 

" The trade of war demands no saints." 

Sir Walter Scott's " Abbot. ^'' 

" This Walpot — a citizen of Bremen, first Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalers — 
was not by birth a nobleman, but his deeds were noble." 

Carlyle's "Frederic the Great," I., 8-3. 

War is a difficult science, which cannot be mastered by experience alone ; its 
principles and rules require careful study and reflection. Lessons picked up at 
random are generally uncertain or en-oneous, often costly to him who receives 
them, and almost always fatal to the State. "Whatever argument," says 
Washington, "may be drawn from particular examples, superficially viewed, 
a thorough examination of the subject \d\\ evince that the art of war is both 
comprehensive and complicated ; that it demands much previous study, and that 
the possession of it in its most improved and perfect state is always of great 
moment to a nation." Napoleon I. admitted, after fourteen campaigns and un- 
paralleled successes, that experience in war, familiarity icith the combat, and 
the best developed war-like virtues, loere insufficient to form good officers ; and 
regretted that most of his generals had not had opportunities to acquire the theo- 
retical knowledge they were so much in need of. Frederic II. thought in 
like manner, and in a characteristic letter, which he wTote to General Fouquet, 
he remarked : " 0/ wJiat use is experience if it is not guided by reflection ?" 

^ Rcemee's " Cavalry; Its Uses," &c. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 185 

" Reading and Discourse are requisite to make a soldier perfect in the Art Mili- 
tary, Iww great soever Ms practical knowledge may be" 

Monk, Duke of Albermarle. 

" By the Portuguese law " (when Portugal was a country whose influence was 
felt) "every person was bound to serve in this force" (militia, called Ordonen- 
zas) "for the defence of the country, from eighteen to sixty years of age. They 
: were organized in battalions of two hundred and fifty men each, uider the com- 
• mand of the chief landed proprietors of the district, and, invariably, wliether 
against the INIoors or Spaniards, rendered more important services to their coun- 
try than the regular army." Stuart's '■'■ History of Infantry ." 

" No regular army, but every citizen a soldier." 

Motto of the Swiss Confederacy 

" Militare nihil est, sed sapere necesseest." 

Roman axiom, from '■'^ Les Evolutions de Ligne," by 

Colonel Lavelaine de IMaubeuge. 

On the 18th June, 1816, the Prussian visitors at Carlsbad got up a festival in 
honor of the anniversary of Belle Alliance (Waterloo), but, already, among cer- 
tain classes, had 1813 (the uprising of the Gei-man People) been so completely 
forgotten that the aristocracy wished to celebrate the occasion entirely distinct from 
the citizens. •' Nonsense !" with an oath, said Blucher, and attended the ban- 
quet of the Citizens, although their invitation was subsequent to that of the Caste, 
to which he seemed to belong. " Badges of honor, titles, dignities, rewards, pre- 
cious and various, have fallen to my lot," spoke Blucher, in answer to the toast 
in his name, " but I find the most gratifpng recompense in the love of my fellow- 
oitizens, in the respect of my associates, and in the consciousness of having done 
my duty." Then he repau-ed to the entertainment of the Yunkers (equivalent 
as a rule, icith glorious— is it profane to say god-like — exceptions, to the caste of 
Federal officials), and expressed himself with BLUCHER-like clearness: "The 
sous of citizens and nobles"* (parallels in their own conceit, are to be found in 
5)lenty in this country), "have fought out- this conflict (Germany's War of Libera- 
tion), side by side, Avith equal bravery ; and, therefore, should they now dance, and 
associate, and rejoice over the victory together, like brothers." 

JOHANN SCHERR'S "BLUCHER," IIL, 419. 

Several of the greatest generals noted in history were born great captains, de- 
veloped their immense powers by study, and stepped from civil life or authority 
into military commands on the grandest scale. Lucullus, in antiquity, is the ex- 



* Was there no exhibition of this exclusiveness of caste exhibited during our great war? 
The reader will find in Townsbnd's '' Campaigns of a '' JVon-cot7ibatanf' the tol\o\vm<; 
eeuteuce, at page 269: "Not the least among the causes of the North's inefficiency will be 
found the ill-feeling between the professional and civil soldiery ; a Regular contemns a 
Volunteer; a Volunteer hates a Regular." The writer has heard similar expressions of 
opiaion and feeling from Volunteer officers who served with marked distinction. But there 
wore god-like exceptions to any assumption of superiority among the Regulars ; among 
these Major-Generals Hooker, ITumpuueys, Plbasanton, and many others, friends, whom 
every patriot delights to cherish and honor. 



186 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ample quoted by Frederic the Great. But it is needless to refer to such 
distant times. Spinola, Cromwell, Blake, the Great Coxde, are well 
known examples ; but the most remarkable, perhaps, is Lord Clive. " The fame 
of those who subdued Antiochus and TiGRANES grows dim when compared with 
the splendor of the exploits which the Young English Adventurer achieved 
at the head of an army not equal in numbers to one-half a Roman Legion. His 
name stands high on the roll of conquerors," "but it is found in a better list, on 
the list of those who have done and suffered much for the happiness of mankind." 
" It is hard to say whether he appears with more lustre as the hero whose single 
exploits laid the foundation of a mighty empire, or as the governor whose resolu- 
tion and integrity stamped the characters which have given stability and perma- 
nence to its power." "Lord Clive's genius for war teas intuitive ; lie had little 
instruction, and no counsellors, for he was one of the few men whose conduct 
was always directed by the dictate s of his own mind, and whose decisions were, 
therefore, secret. Like all great men, he took counsel only of himself ; and like 
the first of the C^SARS, the talents of other men could add little to his genius. He 
was born a leader ; and the great Lord Chatham pi-onounced him to be a 
heaven-born general ; for without experience, or being much versed in military 
aff ah-s, he had surpassed all the officers of his tune. He was, in truth, compelled 
to form himself as well as his officers and his army ; and it is said that, of the 
eight officers toho commanded under him at the defence of Arcot, only two had 
ever been in action, and four out of the eight were mere factors of the (East 
India) Company, induced by Clive's example to volunteer their services. But 
although nothing is known of the steps he took to prepare himself for militar}- life 
in youth, he was early remarkable for a bold and adventm'ous spkit. An aversion 
to control marked his boyhood and his maturity He cei'tainly de- 
voted much of his time, on his arrival at Madras, and for the first five years of his 
residence there, to reading, during which period he must have acquired a consid- 
erable amount of knowledge. It would be unreasonable, therefore, to suppose 
that he was wholly indebted to his genius — nor are, indeed, men ever so — yet, 
doubtless, like all great minds, he could not only devise and decide, but he coujd 
communicate his ardent spirit to his followers, and awaken a devotion which can 
alone lie acquired in war by great natural qualities. The East India Company 
never had a more zealous, upright, and efficient servant ; and it is without ques- 
tion that Great Britain mainly owes her Eastern Empii'e to Lord Clive." 

Alison, ISIacaulay and Lieut.-Gen. Hon. Sir Edward Cust; 

Major Philip Kearny, decorated for resj^lendent soldiership 
n-l)road, brevetted for gallant and meritorious service at home, whose 
empty sleeve was a continual reminder which rendered words 
superfluous to tell that he had won his honors in "the fore-front of 
the lieady fight " — ^had finished his most thorough course of prei>- 
nration for a General's command. Having reached the age of 
Ibrty-six years, he was now about to prove that the time devoted 
to perfecting himself in his profession had not been thrown away. 
His quickness of eye and pecuhar faculty of acquii'ing at a glance 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 187 

a complete knowledge of the topography of any field of action — • 
his unerring military sagacity — had as much to do with winning the 
Cross of the Legion of Honor, as his dash and intrepidity. In 
that short, sharp, and decisive Italian campaign of 1859, he had 
developed as much mind as action. 

In the fall of 18G0, and during the ensuing winter, startling 
events, treading upon the heels of events no less moraentuous and 
unexpected, revealed the mournful fact that the peace which had 
blessed our countxy with half a century of prosperous development 
without a parallel, was about to terminate. The crisis towards 
which all the great events of American history had been tending, 
from the formation of the Government to the election of Abrahasi 
Lincoln, was at hand. The blackness which portended the tem- 
pest hung over the land. All hopes that the clouds would disperse 
had given way to an almost a^vful awaiting of the bm-sting of the 
storm. It broke in the roar of the cannon which opened on Fort 
Sumter; but the menace of the preceding ominous thunder had 
been heard long before that artillery flashed forth the signal that 
" peace had ascended to Heaven." 

No sooner had the tocsin of alarm resounded across the Atlantic, 
than Kearny's patriotism responded to the appeal. There needed 
no fiery cross to summon him to arms. His own ardent spirit 
answered the invocation of his menaced Fatherland as instantly as 
the explosion of a gun follows the application of the match — ns 
instantly as beacon was wont to answer beacon when the English 
coast or Scottish border was menaced by the foe. 

Kearny had always looked forward to an opportunity of shining 
in war under the flag of his country. But his wildest dreams had 
never pictured that he was to loom up the grandest military figui'e 
of a civil war in the United States, in whose presence all previous 
civil wars were to sink into insignificance. 

Alas, the stage on which Kearny was so greatly to deport him- 
self, the theatre in which he was to display so admirably the results 
of his natui'al gifts when matured by experience, was no longer the 
Tell and the Atlas, the Alps and the Milanese, Africa and Italy, 
but his own dear country, convulsed by a Rebellion begotten of the 
" Barbarism of Slavery ;" more barbarous in the spirit it had en- 
gendered that the savageness of the Kabyles, strangers to Christian- 
ity, against Avhom he had first flashed his sabre. 

He was now about to draw Ms sword, not against the Mexican, 



188 BIOOEAPHT OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the enemy of the United States ; nor the Indian, the opponent of 
civilization ; nor the Austrian, the foe of liberal ideas ; but against 
traitors as criminal as those who linked their fortunes to the im- 
pious Cataline ; against patricides, who aimed then* murderous 
steel against the Constitution and the laws — the integrity and the 
very existence of their native land. 

His patriotism was all aflame ; a patriotism which ordinary minds 
can scarcely conceive; a patriotism which very few men have 
sutRcient magnanimity to appreciate. To him the word " Father- 
land," or " native country " were not mere expressions or empty 
words. His associates had hitherto been chosen from that class of 
jnen — many of these Southerners, and then* affiliations or con«e«- 
tions, who were looked upon in Europe as the finest, nay, the only 
types of American gentlemen — for few men, however independent 
in then- line of thought, can reason Avith Burns: 

" The rank is but the guineas stamp, 
The man's the gold for a' that ;" 

Or with Wycherly: 

" I weigh the MAN, not his title; 
'Tis not the Idug's stamp can make the metal better." 

The majority of the ablest officers Avho betrayed their country, 
and broke then* oaths of allegiance, had been his companions in 
arms. The reader will remember that thi-ee, who rose to high 
commands in the rebel army, one to the highest, were with him 
upon the first occasion in which he distinguished himself m Mexico, 
that reconnoisance which Scott styled the greatest of the campaign ; 
and Stonewatx Jackson's chosen successor in command, was with 
our hero in his charge into the very gate of the Aztec capital. His 
slyle of life, his taste for art and display, yes, it may as well be ad- 
mitted, his strong inclination for luxurious and elegant ease, were 
more consistent with the habitudes of Southern than Northern life 
and manner of living. 

But there is often a depth of feeling in individuals of this type 
which falsifies thejudgment of ordinary men. Cavour was an ex- 
ample of this. In the bosom of the man of the world and the " lion 
of society " beat the heart of a patriot ; of a statesman, as alive to 
the interests of his country, as a Franklin or an Adams or a 
Washington. The flame may not have been as pure, according to 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. f89 

the superficial judgment of the world — because the wor'd judges 
simply by the outside — but it was as ardent and unselJish. ISelf 
disappeared before the question of codntky. " What am I," ex- 
claimed Keahny, " if no longer an American f" This exclamation 
summed up the whole argument. He, the soldier, who had served 
all over this Continent, had learned what a magnificant empire 
acknowledged our sway ; he, the wanderer, who had traversed land 
and sea, had leai-ned what nationality meant. "Gives romanus 
sum" had been the watchword which carried a citizen of the greatest 
Republic of antiquity safe and resj^ected throughout the then known 
world. It enabled him to brave the despot on his thi-one, and daunt 
the savage in his wild. Years after that grand old Republic had 
lapsed into a centralized absolutism — God grant that such be not 
the fate of ours. St. Paul, the true exemplar of a Christian gen- 
tleman, the greatest examplar of manhood, owed his safety to his 
declaration to the Centurion and Chief Captain that he was ^freer- 
horn Roman citizen. Even so Kearny felt with regard to his 
birthright : " I am an American citizen, loas his boast, his de- 
fence, and his pride." "He loved his country, its grand present, 
its almost infinitely grander future. He saw the crumbling of 
foreign empires, the worthless trial of foreign greatness. He saw 
clearly how all that was old was destined to sure decay, and how 
much the world was to owe to the freedom, the education, the civ- 
ilization of the American Republic. And then, too, America wiis 
his country. To her he had sworn allegiance. For her he had lost 
lus arm ; for her he had braved death on eveiy battle-field from 
Vera Cruz to Mexico, and at the hands of the treacherous sava"-e. 
And so to save the nation, to do 'his part to secure her existence, 
and to put down villainy and insanity, which threatened her life, 
thou </h dissuaded bi/ all his military friends in Paris, he hastened 
to give all the energies of his nature to the cause of his dear country. 
Tliose who conversed with him and knew the thoughts of his heart, 
those alone can know how firm and unalloyed was the patriot- 
ism which brought him home." 

" We parted in Paris, in 1860, — " are the words of a letter from 
an officer who served, in 1859, with the Sardinians, as Kearny did 
Avith the French — " and I returned home, and I remember his last 
request was to let him know the state of afiairs in the United States. 
As soon as the secession of the Southern States appeared inevitable 
I iuibrmed him to that effect, and received for answer that he 



180 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENEUAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

would immediately retm-n home to offer liis services to the Admin- 
istration in the war ; concluding by saying that he had no trust or 
confidence in the Southern men or measures froni the start, and that 
they were unfit to govern themselves, even if they should succeed in 
establishing then* independence, as there was nothing practical 
about them." General Muffling, in his " Passages from 3Iy Life" 
has (page 267-'8) an apposite remark in this connection : " The 
great mass of the French people are very intelligent, but there are 
many vain, egotistical, and quarrelsome individuals amongst them, 
v:ho must he summai^ily dealt vnth. One who yields appears to 
them weak ; he who changes his measures, inconsistent and trifling." 
Kearny saw through the Southerners as Muffling did the French. 
It is a pity that our government did not act in 18G5 as Blucher and 
Muffling did in 1815. The matter would have been settled, if blows 
became absolutely necessary, at the cost of a score or two of lives ! 
This would have established tranquility and secured its continuance. 
There would have been no more talking of renewing the struggle, 
but peaceable if not cheerful obedience to the inevitable. 

*' I suppose you are already fiiiniliar with the cool treatment lie 
received from the government on his application for service, and he 
seemed on more than one occasion to me to think seriously of giving 
up all hope of employment by the action of the Administration, but 
perseoercd until his claims were acknoioledged." 

At that time it was not thought necessary to have trained sol- 
diers to command our raw levies, and their merits were never fully 
acknowledged throughout the war, or Kearny's " sj^lendid cotq) 
d\eil / his quiet judgment, sang-froid, and prom^^t decision; his 
electric influence, with his soldiers and splendid valor, would ha-ve 
been sooner acknowledged. 

Early in the spring of 1861, on receiving the first reliable intelli- 
gence of his country's imminent peril, Keakny broke up his luxu- 
rious establishment in Paris, took ship for the United States, and 
without the loss of an hour, as soon as he arrived in New York, 
proceeded on to Washington to offer his services to the President. 
Well may his eulogist declare,.that he was not welcomed as he 
should have been. It was with Kearny as it had been with many 
an able man before him. He was rejected because the mine of un- 
told preciousness was concealed beneath the modest demeanor in- 
separable from true gentility and heroism. Even so, Ferdinand II., 
Emperor of Austria, rejected Konigsmarck, a man very much akin 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GEXERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 191 

to Kearnt in liis military qualifications. Even so, Louis XIV. 
refused with scorn the services of Peince Eugene, the greatest 
general ever thus vouchsafed for the salvation of Austria. Even so, 
Fkederic the Great turned his back upon Laudon, because he 
did not like his books ; and learned by sad experience that he had 
driven into the enemy's ranks tlie most dangerous adversary and 
the ablest general the King encountered in his whole subsequent 
career. Each of these monarchs were akin to him. 

" whose hand, 

Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away. 
Richer than all his tribe." 

But although Kearny was like to Konigsmarck, and to Prince 
Eugene, and to Laudon in his eminent ability, his spirit was none 
of tlieirs. L^ndeserved mis-appreciation and rejection could not 
arm his hand against the authority which would not recognize his 
merit, nor glue his sword to its scabbard. From the President of 
the United States he turned to the Governor of his nativ^e State. 
The reader will remember that, when the Federal Government 
first called upon the loyal Executives to furnish their appropriate 
quotas of troops, it was generally understood that the different 
Governors were to be permitted to appoint a number of general 
officers, in proportion to the numerical force organized within then* 
jurisdictions. Thus it was — through local political influence — that 
John A. Dix obtained his Major-General's commission. 

Up to this time, Kearny had never claimed to be otherwise 
than a citizen of the " Empire State." He was a New Yorker, 
born and bred. Like his imcle — Major-General Stephen Watts 
Kearny — before him, he had been appointed to the United States 
army from New York. The majority of his interests lay in his 
native city, derived from ancestors who never had any connection 
with another State. Consequently, on the advice of Lieutenant 
General Scott, he hastened back from the Capital of the nation to 
tlie Capital of his native State, there to prefer his claims for 
appointment as a General — due to him as a citizen of acknow- 
ledged talent, of experienced ability, of tried valor, who had proved 
himself under his own and foreign ensigns, always, everywhere, 
" every inch a soldier." 

His life-long career, his very record of service, ought to have 
been sufficient to have obtained for him one of the four Major or 
Brigadier-Generalships to which the State of New York was enti- 



192 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

tied. That his arrival was not unijoticed, and that the man him- 
self was well-known, is demonstrated by the following article, of 
which a copy was furnished for this work as soon as its preparation 
was made known. 

"Among the late arrivals, we notice the name of tiiat distinguished officer, 
Major Kearny, late of the armyl 

?' Major Keakny, after an absence of two or three years, returns home to 
offer his services in the support of our Government and the flag under which he 
has so nobly battled. He is now at Albany, urging upon the Governor his 
claims to a high position in the Volunteer force of the State. In this connec- 
tion, it will not be amiss to state what have been Major Keakny's services and 
military experience. 

" He entered our army in 1836 as Lieutenant of Dragoons, and for years served 
on our Western frontier, under that able and distinguished officer, Stephen 
Watts Kearny, then Colonel of First Dragoons, and afterwards in connection 
with Commodore Stockton, the Conqueror and Military Governor of California. 
Major Kearny afterwards served in the war with Mexico, and lost an arm in a 
gallant charge at the City of Mexico. General Scott mentions him as among 
' the bravest of the brave.' 

"In addition to his almost constant military duty in this country, he had the 
glory of serving a campaign in Africa, under the Duke d'ORLEANS, and still 
later he served -with the French Cavalry at Solferino, and received from the Em- 
peror public acknowledgment of his service and bravery, and a decoration of the 
Legion of Honor. 

"Few men have seen more active service, and still fewer of our countrymen 
have ever witnessed the movements of such large and splendid armies. 

" His valuable experience should not be refused at this time, when we are so sadly 
in leant of experienced commanders without a taint of treason. Such is 
Major Kearny. His tune, his fortune, his great experience, are freely offered, 
aud should be accepted by 7iis native State." 

Kearny bora with him to Albany a certificate from Lieutenant- 
General Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the United States army, of 
which the following is a copy : 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ) 
Washington, May 1, 1861. j 

To His Excellency Governor Morgan, of New York : 

Sir :— I beg leave to suggest Major Philip Kearny, of Nero YorJc, late a 
distinguished officer of the army, for a high commission in the New Tork Vol- 
unteers. Major Kearny's long and valuable experience in actual military service 
seems to commend him as a useful as well as a valuable commander and disciplina- 
rian. He is among the bravest of the brave, and of the highest military spirit and 

bearing. 

With the highest respect. 

Your Excellency's 

Moat obedient servant, 

(.Signed) ' Winfield Scott. 



BIOiURAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 193 

It would scarcely be believed that the claims of such a man were 
ignored in favor of individuals who had scarcely more to recom- 
mend them than the presumption with which they preferred their 
applications, and the want of principle with which those applications 
were pressed and backed by ignorant politicians, and worse. The 
letters of many of our influential citizens, men of acknowledged 
judgment and worth, received no more attention Ijhan the testi 
monial of General Scott, of which Kearny himself justly wrote, 8th 
May, 1864: " General Scott's letter to Governor Morgan is cer- 
tainly very strong, and I presume it is the only testimony of the 
kind that he has ever extended to any individual." Kearny chafed 
terribly under the treatment to which he was subjected. 

But why linger on this theme, so disgraceful to that body of men 
who had the power to put the " right man in the right place," to do 
their duties by their State and country, and did it not. They w( r ) 
politicians ; that stamps their action. Sufficient to say, Governor 
Morgan was not to blame — a gentleman, an able man, an upright 
Governor, Avhose talent for organization was felt throughout the 
whole war. 

Rejected by his native State — would that the fact did not blemish 
its record — Kearny returned to Washington. To the eternal 
honor of New Jersey and her citizens, they could appreciate him. 
Let him who doubts this read the eloquence of one of her sons and 
compare it with the feeling language of that Memorial Address from 
the pen of another — one to whom his ajDpointment was subse-i 
quently due — one who prepared and delivered a noble tribute to , 
Kearny's memory, which the wi'iter will freely quote with grate- ^ 
ful acknowledgments — Cortlandt Parker, Esq., of Newark,* the 
counsel and friend of the patriot soldier, whom he knew how to 
appreciate and commemorate : 

"More nearly than any other, he (Kearny) represented in his views and 
theory the popular conception as to the method upon which the war should be 
fought. He reflected, moreover, more truly than any other high commander, 
the exalted, unselfish, uncalculating patriotism which glowed in the hearts of 
the people. His fiery nature took affront at every attempt to dwarf the grand 
conquest into anything else than a struggle for the sublime principle' of nation- 
alit)'. He had no confidence in politicians, but little respect for dignitaries, no 
love for anything but the cause. Intriguers, cowards, martinets, small men essay- 

* Nor let his coadjutors in this patriotic work be forgotten. — Pet. Halstead, Esq., 
and H. N. Conger, Esq., of Newark, New Jersey. 



194 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ings to crowd down great ones, he detested mth implncable detestation. But to 
courage and upright manliness, he lilted his hat with instinctive revercr.ce. lor 
the Soldier, whether officer or private, who cherished a genuine pride in his ])ro- 
fession, and labored, only for duty's sake, to excel in every requirement of the 
service, he had esteem unbounded — not always exhibited, indeed, bj' outward act, 
. but none the less genuine and profound. In battle, fierce as a lion, on parade 
sometimes stern and impetuous, almost to injustice; in the hospital, by the 
bedside of the wounded and dying, his heart grew tender, his voice as soft as 
a woman's; even his touch had healing in it. Men who only saw him with the 
hood of pride upon his face, judged him incapable of emotion. They did not 
know how, under all the hard crust, there lurked the tenderest thoughtfulness 
for tlie health, comfort, and lives of his command ; how, out of his own purse, 
he ministered to their wants ; how, even in the heat of battle, thoughts of home 
and kindred, like flashes of sunshine, illumined the stony, stoical nature ; how, 
in the battle-pauses, he was wont to pen massages of remembrance from the 
ghastliest held to those who, afar off, watched his plume with solicitude and 
affection. It is no wonder, indeed, that men misjudged him ; he had no mirror 
set in liis breast that all the world might see and know his thoughts ; rather, he 
was reticent, reserved, surrounded by a hauteur which few men cared to pene- 
trate ; and so, in the estimation of all but a few intimates, he suffered a sort of 
martyrdom, when he should have been crowned a king of men,"* 

"And so Philip Keauny, after weeks of waiting at the doers of 
the New York Executive, jostled by political intriguers, turned 
away in perfect disgust, absolutely unable, since he could not 
be a private with one arm, to lind a place where he could serve the 
country he had come three thousand miles to fight for. 

" Accideut placad a Jersey friend in possession of the fact that 
he was in America. 

" The noble first brigade of three year's troops was then gathering 
for the field, from which so few of them returned. It was evident 
at a glance that all such men needed was a leader who could appre- 
ciate their merits. Without Major Keakny's knowledge, this friend 
hastened to urge his appointment to command them. It rv^as a 
matter of much more ditficulty than he imagined. 

Looking back, it seems inconceivable how it could have cost so 
much exertion to secure the appointment of such a man to such a 
place. It took nearly three months t' i accomplish it. Not till Bull 
Kun had illustrated our need of educated, experienced soldiers was 
it done. And how, in the meantime, did the restless spirit of the 
patriot hero chafe at the delay — for he knew his own capacity and 
appi'eciated the character of the war. Sure that the nation would 

♦ Foster's " New Jersey and the Rebellion.'" Chapter XLV. 801-5. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 195 

eventually triumph, he knew, then, nevertMess, that it was all which 
experience has found it to be." 

Then the NEWS of BULL RUN came. 

The writer cannot close this chapter without making a few re- 
marks in regard to Bull Run. Never was a battle more misrepre- 
sented ©r misunderstood. The panic which occurred neither origi- 
nated with the troops who were engaged, nor those who did i he 
hard lighting, nor did it assume its disgraceful proportions through 
them. The whole matter was more or less intentionally misrepre- 
sented by such as Mr. Russell, who ought to have known better, 
and HIS story not the story was read all over the world in the col- 
umns of a paper enjoying the most extensive circulation, a paper 
the most hostile to the North, and the most deliberate detractor of 
its people and of its armies. 

Had Mr. Russell been as well read in military matters as he as- 
sumed to be, atid was believed to have been, he would have refrained 
from using his pen so freely, since foreign history contains more 
disgraceful panics among her regular troops than occurred at Bull 
Run among our militia. Major-General Baknaed, United States 
Engineers, refers to a number of instances of these unaccountable 
panics, dissolutions of armies, or ^'■debacles " as the French say, in 
his work : "The C. S. A. and the Battle of Bull Run." The writer, 
also, immediately after the occurrence and before the general had 
taken up his pen, wrote several articles in vindication of our men 
and collected a number — which might easily be increased tenfold — 
of instances of panics in regular armies far exceeding that of the 
21st July, 1861, in our aggregation of raw troops, for that could 
scarcely be termed an army in which the regiments had only been 
brigaded for the first time on their march towards the enemy, and 
had never been manoeuvered together as brigades or divisions. 
" Passing over without comment or consideration the plans and 
action of General McDowell, critical examination will disclose the 
truth that it was no want of courage and conduct on the 23art of om* 
privates that lost the battle ; the fault lay with their immediate officers 
and with men who have strangely escaped the blame, and risen to 
high commands." Moreover, had our rear-guard or reserve division 
been brought into the field, or even a part of it, to counteract the 
eftecls of the arrival of Kirby Smith, Bull Run, instead of a defeat, 
would have been a victory, had not God for the welfare of the coxin- 
try willed it otherwise. 



196 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

On 28th August, 1640, the Scotch forded the Tyne at Newburn, 
and attacked the Englisli army, 6,000 strong, " which fled with a 
speed and disorder unworthy of their national reputation." 

At Tippermuir, 1st September, 1644, tlie defeated Lowlanders, 
volunteers, fighting for the House of Hanover, accustomed to the 
use of arms and bred in a warlike age, fled so precipitately that 
"man* broke their wind, and died in consequence." 

At Philiphaugh, 13th September, 1645, the army of Montrose, 
after five resplendent victories, won against great odds, was anni- 
hilated in an equal degree to that of de Guebriant, at Tuttlingen. 

At the Pass of Killecrankie, 17th June, 1689, Clavekhouse, 
with an army of undisciplined Highlanders, dissipated a regular 
array of Anglo-Scotch troops, under a tried and reliable general, 
MacKay. The flying regulars abandoned cannon and everything 
else ; two regiments alone stood fast (like oui- reserve), while all 
the rest were routed. 

On Sunday, 13th November, 1715, an engagement took place at 
Sherittamir,- between the loyal Anglo-Scottish army under the 
Duke of Argyle, and the rebel under the Earl of Mar, which 
was the counterpart of Bull Run in many particulars. The Earl, 
victorious on the left, nevertheless di-ew oif to Ardoch ; while the 
Duke, equally successful on the right, withdrew to Durablane. On 
both sides the left fled, while the right maintained then- ground. 
The English General Whitham " fled almost to Stirling Bridge." 

At Preston, 20th September, 1745, the English troops either 
laid down their arms, or ran ; and the witty Lord Kerr observed of 
then- commander, Sir John Cope, " that he believed he was the 
first general in Europe who had brought the first tidings of his 
own defeat." 

About the same remark was- addressed to the Count of Cler- 
mont, Commander-in-Chief of the French, routed at Crevelt, 23d 
June, 1758, when spurring into Neuss, he demanded, "if many of 
his runaways had passed that way." "No, my lord; you are tlie 
first — far ahead." 

Two or three more British achievements in this line may not be 
unacceptable to American readers. When Russell touched up liis 
account of Bxdl Run in colors borrowed from the privilege of ro- 
mantic narrative, had he forgotten the stern facts of the " Race of 
C;isilebar," or the "Castlebar Races," where 1,150 French and 
" some few of the malcontent peasantry," (Cust), or 800 French 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 197 

and about 1,000 peasants, with two light guns, (Gordon), 
Mttacked, 27th August, 1798, 2,000 or 3,000 English regulars 
(Oust), with 14 pieces of artillery in a good position. The English 
broke and ran ; some to Tuam, 38 miles from the field of battle, 
tliat same night, and an officer with 60 riflemen, in 27 hours made 
good his race to Athlone, 80 miles from Castlebar. None of our 
men beat that. 

Take Plattsburg, 11th September, 1814, as another nice exam- 
ple, Avhere Macomb, with 1,500 regulars and about 1,500 militia 
and volunteers, defeated or drove back 12,000 British regulars, 
" with a most excellent train of artillery " (these are the British Gen- 
eral Cust's figures), the veterans of many wars, and the conquerors 
of Napoleon's best generals and troops in Spain. General Smith, 
B. A., on page 186 of his "Precis of the Wars of Canada," says : 
" Several very efficient and excellent brigades were forwarded from 
Bordeaux, from the Duke of Wellington, to Canada." So that 
tliese, the veteran conquerors of veteran conquerors, were soon to 
be repulsed by raw American troops of the line, volunteers and 
militia, defending the line of the Saranac, a stream which, if in 
the same condition, as stated, that it was when the writer saw it, 
ought to have been forded in line of battle, like the Tagliamento 
by the French, 16 March, 1797. The result of this action was the 
precipitate retreat of the British army, leaving behind them then- 
sick and wounded to the humanity of the Americans. Gen. Cust 
admits that a panic occurred among the British troops in the attack 
on Fort Erie. But scarcely anything equals the results of White- 
t.ock's operations in Buenos Ayres, when the British general not 
only capitulated and abandoned his own field, but, to save his beaten 
army — beaten through the incapacity of theu' own commander — 
yielded the previous glorious conquest of Sir Samuel Auchmuty, 
which was not endangered. 

All fought-out, mis-handled troops are liable to panics ; and 
shame to him who, on that account, charges cowardice on the 
Anglo-Saxon race. 

Such reference to the past is only justifiable to meet the asper- 
sions and unmerited sarcasms of a people who egged us on to the 
Great American Conflict, and then wickedly abandoned us ; a govern- 
ment " Perfide Albion," which, when our nation, in its agony asked 
for a cup of cold water for the sake of common lineage, and lan- 
guage, and liberty, took a sponge, dipped it in vinegar, and thrust 



198 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

it upon ojf lijr- at the point of the spear, as an American poet 
phrases it, wounding, as well as outraging humanity, in the North- 
ern People. 

There is no braver people on the face of the earth than the Eng- 
lish nation, and were there no other proof on record, their conduct 
during the great India Rebellion, and their prompt suppression of 
it, would exalt them to the pinnacle of human fame as Christian 
soldiers, the truest types of purest chivalry. But we, Americans, 
are not behind them, and therefore Russell's reproach deserves a 
Roland for his Oliver. 

The preceding are English catastrophies ;' but let not Continental 
nations forget that their records teem with equally sorrowful disas- 
ters, which an invidious consideration would assign to the deficien- 
cies of race, whereas they are chai-geable to the inexijlicable, and, in 
most instances, temporary feebleness of humanity. 

Without dwelling on Agincourt, 25th October, 1415, Avhere the 
chivalry of France and sixty thousand men at arms melted away 
before two thousand English horse and thirteen thousand English 
infantry, like a loose snow wreath in a warm spring rain, whose 
drops, in this c:ise, were English cloth-yard arrows ; or referring to 
medieval pauics, review the many parallels in war since the intro- 
duction of gunpowder, which revolutionized the military art. 

At Montlhery, 15th July, 1465, Louis XI. met Charles the 
Bold. The former with his French triumphed on the left wing ; 
the latter with his Burgundians on the centre, and on the right. 
Louis XI. abandoned the field, but nothing more, and saved Paris, 
his capital, as the Unionists did in July, 1861. What makes this 
parallel to Bull Run more apposite, " the roads were thronged with 
fuo-itives, flying from those who had fled with equal precipitation in 
other dh-ections." One Royal officer never drew rein till he reached 
Lusignan, one hundred and seventy-five miles, in Poitou, and a 
Ducal cavalier never spared spur till he was at home one hundred 
miles to the northward, in Hainault. 

At Tuttlingen, Thirty Years' War, 24th November, 1643, an army 
of eighteen thousand veterans, French and Franco-German, was just 
wiped out by twenty thousand Germans. The former lost a mar- 
shal, four thousand killed and wounded, seven thousand prison^ers, 
and pretty much all then- material. Night alone stopped the pur- 
suit, and saved a remnant. 

In 1702, 14th October, at Friedlingen, Villars had gi-eat diffi- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOU-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 199 

culty in rallying the conqxierers (liis own French) running away 
from the beaten Imperialists. 

In 1704, the rout after Blenheim, and in 1706 those after Turin 
and Kaniillies were not more terrible than the flight after Bull Run, 
and these thi'ee occurred among troops accustomed to conquer, and 
veterans formed in long and constant wars. 

At Leiilhen, orLissa, 5th December, 1757, thiily-three thousand 
Prussians attacked ninety thousand Austrians in a fortified position, 
of whom twenty-three thousand five hundred were taken prisoners, 
six thousand five hundi-ed were killed or wounded, and not over 
thhty-seven thousand came together again of the remainder, who 
fl(?d across the mountains. On the 19th, the Prussians captm-ed 
seventeen thousand six hundred and thuty-five more Austrians in 
Breslau, so that Frederic, in three weeks, used up or took nearly 
twice as many of the enemy as he had numbers to achieve this 
marvel. A month to a day before Lissa, 5th November, 1757, 
Frederic, with twenty two thousand Prussians dispersed, like chafi:' 
before the wind, sixty three thousand French and Franco Germans, 
" his cavalry sweeping Soubise and Hildburghausen (then- gener- 
als) from the face of the earth." It was not near so bad as this at 
Bull Ptun — let our calumniators make all the misrepresentations of 
which the incidents are susceptible in regard to our loyal array — yet 
the allied army was composed of tramed soldiers, and om-s of militia, 
or then- equivalent. 

What will our depredators say of the panic among the victorious 
French after Wagram, 1809 ; among their veterans at Albuera, 
1811, or again after Solferino, 1859 ; or of the routs of Winkowo* 
in 1812, or of the catastrophy of the Katsbach, or of Dennewitz, or 
of Leipsic, 1813, or Vittoria, in the same year; or of Marmont's 
corps after Laon, in 1814, or of that " saicve qui pent/ " the worst 
of all, after Waterloo. 

Did space permit, page after page might be filled with such refer- 
ence, from Narva, fought 30th November, 1700, in a Russian snow 
storm, down to that famous "day of the Pass of Cambrills, 15th 
June, 1813," under the tonid sun of Spain, of which General Cust 
Bays (2, IV. 54) : " The best of the story was, that all (three) par 
ties ran away (Gen.) Maurice Matiiieu (French) ran away, (Gen.) 



' Cost's Wars, 2d Series, IV., 304; Gkaham's Military Eni$ and Moral Means, 307, 



200 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Sir John Murray (English) ran away, and so did (Marshal) 
SucHET, (French). He (Suchet) was afraid to strike at Murray* 
knew nothing of Maurice Mathieu, and had not even been able 
to communicate with TaiTajona," (besieged, which he came out to 
reheve. ) 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A MODEL BRIGADE, AND A PATTERN BRIGADE COMMANDER. 

" O V0U8, jeunes guerriers, qui brulant de valeur, 

Prets a vous signaler dans les champs de I'honneur, 

Vou9 arraches aux bras d'une plaintive mere 

N'allez point vous ilatter, novices a' la guerre ; 

Que vous debutterez par d'immoetels exploits: 

Commencez sans rougir par les derniers emplois: 

Durement exerces dans un travail penible, 

Du fusil menacant purtez le poids terrible; 

Rendez, votre corps souple a tous les mouvements 

Que le dieu des guerriers' enseigne a ses enfants; 

Tous fermes dans voa rangs en silence immobiles, 

L'oeil fixe sur le chef, a ses ordres deciles, 

Attentifs a sa voix, s'il commande, agissez; 

En mouvements egaux a Tinstant exerces, 

Apprenez a charger vos tubes homicides; 

Avancez fierment a grands pas intrepides, 

Sans flotter, sans ouvrir et sans rompre vos rangs ; 

Tirez par pelotons en observant vos temps; 

Prompts sans inquietude et plelns de vigilance 

Aux postes dout sur vous doit rouler la defense, 

Attendez le signal et marchez sans tarder 

Qui ne sail obeir ne saura commander.'''' 

'^L^ Art de la Guerre,^'' par 'Feed'ehic Ij-e GnAira. 
" After the glorious cavalry stroke at Haynau, 26th May, 1813, the king of Prussia 
said, grumblingwise, to Blucher in Strehlen, " You had quite a favorable, handsome 
fight at Haynau, but as a drawback suffered quite a loss of my Guards.'''' "Your 
Majesty," answered Blucher, " I am heartily sorry for the loss of so many gallant fel- 
lows, but under such circumstances, the head of a Guardsman (regular) is of no more 
consequence than that of a Landwehrman (volunteer)." 

Bibske's " Blucher," 9. 
" The Rhine alone the armies stayed. 

' Shall we or not, now Prance invade ?' 

Some argued ' yes,' some argued ' no' — 

Old Blucher cut them short, with ' Go, 

Bring staff-maps here. To enter France 

Presents no obstacle ; advance. 

Where stands the foe ?' ' The foe, just here ' — 

Point out the spot; thrash him, that's clear; 

Where's Paris ?' ' Paris ? there it is.' 

* The finger on't ; we'll take Paris.' 
Now throw the bridges 'cross the Rhine. 

I'm sure champagne has greater zest. 

And where it grows must taste the best." 

Kopisch's " Blucher on the Rhine" 

26 



202 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Now that New York had rejected Phil. Kearny, had 
rejected the " Type Volunteer General of the War," New 
Jersey adopted him. Henceforward, Philip Kearny belongs 
to New Jersey. New Yorkers have no claim to his pre-eminent 
honors, except through bis blood, birth and burial. The laurels 
which Kearny won in 1861-2 must be hung on the trophy of 
the State which was proud to number him among her repre- 
sentative men, and extend to him the rights of a son and a 
citizen. God bless her for it ! The only error she committed 
was when she gave up his remains for interment in this, his 
native State, which had disowned him, instead of retaining 
them for deposit among her own dead heroes and in her own 
soil. 

On the 21st July, 1861, the North lost the battle of Bull 
Run ; but the rebels did not win any thing but the possession 
of the field, for the gain was altogether with the North. It 
cemented the free States ; it awakened the people to the neces- 
sity of organizing a proper army ; it taught the government 
that they could no longer trifle with events. 

The reverse which Kearny's prescience had foreseen, only 
stimulated his patriotism. He no longer stood upon rank or 
right. He proclaimed his willingness to lead a regiment or 
even to take a subordinate line-command in any -which should 
be raised. But the hour had come and the man. 

Lincoln, who had by this time recognized in the one-armed 
applicant for a generalship that Captain K e r n y whom he 
had assisted in raising his famous troop for the Mexican war, 
determined to pay no more attention to the suggestions of any 
one in this regard, but act in accordance with his own sound 
common sense. Accordingly, on the 25th July, 1861, the com- 
mission was dated "Zth August, 1861, he appointed Major Philip 
KearnY Brigadier-General, with rank from 1 7th May previous, 
which placed Kearny "twelfth on the original list " of officers 
of that grade, and assigned him to the command of the First 
New Jersey Brigade, in Franklin's Division of the embryo 
Army of the Potomac. 

It has always been an interesting question whether volunteer 
troops would fight better if organized into brigades and divi- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. OflS 

Bions by States, or if distributed, without regard to their origin, 
by regiments into brigades cotnprising troops from different 
sections. It has ever been the writer's opinion tliat the mf^sing 
together of the troops from each State, in a State uniform and 
under a State flag, would be the wisest course, since it would 
develop the highest feelings of State pride, and thus make the 
troops from one State anxious to surpass those from another, 
creating a generous rivalry, which must inevitably be produc- 
tive of the most beneficial results. 

These arguments in favor of a thorough State organization 
were urged upon Governor Hunt in 1850, and doubtless New 
York would have had a simple but elegant uniform of her own 
had it not been for officers who wished to maintain one identical 
■with that of the United States. This view of keeping the troops 
of each State distinct was a favorite one with Philip Kearny. 
Fortunately, to enable him to carry out his idea, the first four 
regiments furnished by New Jersey had not been distributed to 
different commands ; consequently, Kearny was enabled to set 
to work at once, with all his energy and experience, to make 
this homogeneous body of Jerseymen soldiers worthy of him- 
self and of their State, and an example to the country of into 
what superlative troops a grand officer can transmute willing, 
patriotic, and brave citizens. 

Kearny's New Jersey Brigade was composed of the First, 
Second and Third regiments from this State, which had reported 
to General Scott at Washington, on the 29th of June, 1861. 
These three were joined by the Fourth Regiment N. J. V. — the 
latter accompanied by a New Jersey battery of six pieces, under 
Captain William Hexamer — which reached Washington on 
the 21st August. 

" Within twenty-four hours after receiving notice of his appointment,* he 
(Kearny) joined the troops at Alexandria. 

"The Jersey brigade happened to be lying together. Therefore, in spite of 
a strong desire, on the part of the then Secretary of War, to separate them, in 

* " On Saturday the decision of the Government was taken ; on Sunday we obtained 
the sanction of his Majesty ; on Monday we came down to Parliament, and at this very 
hour, while I have now the honor of addressing this House, British troops are m their 
way to Portugal." Example op Pbomptkbss. Prime Minister Canning, lith, December, 
182(5. 



204 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

order to abolish State pride even in such a matter, he wag able to procure him- 
self to be assigned to their command, and entered upon his duties with consti- 
tutional alacrity. 

" Those who had most strongly urged the appointment of General Kearny 
had no expectation that he would possess such excellence as he immediately 
displayed; his dash, his chivalric bravery, his generosity and lavish expendi- 
ture of his large wealth to make his troops compare favorably with others. 

" There was no idea of his talents as an organizer ; his fervid enthusiasm 
for his profession ; his close study of the art of war, and intimate acquaintance 
with its history; his magnetic influence over men; his intuitive perception of 
character ; his strategic genius, and his almost more than conscientious devo- 
tion to his military duty. 

" But a single month revealed all those qualities for which circumstances 
would present the exhibition. Personally and intimately acquainted myself 
with the leading ofiBcers of his finest regiment, I was astonished to find that 
his first letter, written a week after knowing them, photographed their char- 
acters as if he had always been their companion. 

"And he addressed himself with such energy to the improvement of his 
brigade, that, in three months, it was confessedly the best disciplined around 
"Washington. 

" His severity, sometimes brusque, often eccentric, at first made him unpopu- 
lar. But the men soon saw he was less indulgent to the shortcomings of 
officers * than to theirs; that he studied their comfort and aimed at their 
improvement. But officers and men soon found that there was but one path 
to his good will ; one way of escaping severity — the full and punctilious dis- 
charge of duty, and that, if they were equal to its requisitions, they were not 

* " When the troops occupied Madison Square," after the riots in 1863, " I often 
walked up there and talked with the soldiers. In reply to my question, to one of 
them, if he had served under General Kearny, he replied : ' Yes, and a splendid 
General he was ; bold as a lion and full of fight.' ' Was he liked by the men ?' ' And 
sure he was, by all.' ' Was he not very strict ?' ' And he was hard cm the men, or my 
own name's not Kearney, but then, he was a d—d deal harder on his officers, and never 

spared himself in camp or in Jight, day or night.'' Letter of R. W , a cousin, both 

of Phil. Kearny and the writer, to whom the latter is indebted for several new facts 
and papers." 

" Marshal Saxe, he was a strict disciplinarian, and had, as he himself related, 
been brought up in a strict school. A French general having attempted to excuse 
some disorders in his corps, on the grounds of not wishing to exercise severity towards 
the officers, Maurice said : ' You are a young soldier. Monsieur le General, and do not 
yet know that forbearance towards the orpicERS may sometimes be severity totvards the 
SOLDIERS, by rendering punishments necessary that attention on their part might have 
averted. Even I, when colonel of cavalry, was ordered by old General Seckendorf, to 
follow for three days on foot, in rear of my own regiment, in consequence of some 
disorders committed by the men ; and yet I was the son of a king, and a favorite son, 
too. This was, no doubt, sharp practice." Major-Gen. Mitchell's Biographies of 
Celebrated Soldiers, 285. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



205 



only appreciated, but most generously applauded; while any thing like shun- 
ning duty met with moat terrible rebuke. And they saw that he required 
nothing but what he himself did; that days and nights were spent fitting him- 
self for greater duties, or carefully attending to their best imerests. 

"And so soon they came to love him, worship him. They would go with 
him any where, reposing without question on his judgment." 

The language of a friend, whose admiration and affection 
has survived the death of its object, has ah-eady been quoted. 
Let the i-eader now compare the opinion of a stranger, one who 
only knew Kkarnt through his record of service, and the 
opinions of those who served with and under him : 

" As the Army of the Potomac gradually assumed the form of an orderly, 
systematic body of troops, with admirable appointments and thorough disci- 
pline, in the fall of 1861, when General Kearny was only a Brigadier, there 
were nAt wanting those, even then, who saw in the one-armed Jerseymaa 
qualities that fitted him, rather than the cautious, unready McClellan, to 
command the magnificent army of nearly two hundred thousand men, and 
hurl it against Richmond. 

" Looking back, now, as we can historically, upon the leaders of that host, 
we are justified in saying that he was the wisest, the most experienced, the 
best read, the most sagacious, as well as the bravest and most dashing officer 
in all that army. For twenty-six years he had followed the profession of 
arms, in the spirit and with the chivalry of a knight of the middle ages. Had 
he livpd a few centuries earlier, he would have ridden by the side of Louis 
the Ninth, or fought the Saracen, shoulder to shoulder, with Richard Cosur 
DE Lion. At Marignano, he would have mingled his blood with that of the 
Chevalier Bayard, " the bravest and the most worthy." At Rocroy, at 
Freiburg, and at Nordlingen, the great Conde would have found in him a 
brother hero, as intrepid and fierce in the onset, as skillful in tactics, as gay 
and as gallant as himself, when the festivities of victory succeeded the toils 
of war. 

" Those whose attention was caught by his dashing horsemanship, his 
martial figure," " the jaunty Piedmontese cloak, trimmed with Astrackan 
lamb's wool, and loaded with Brandenburgs and cord," "and the gold lace 
with which his uniform was all aglow, were not aware how firm, cool, 
systematic and thoroughbred a soldier was to be found in General Kearny. 
In this respect he resembled the 'Bayard of the Army of Northern 
Virginia,' Stonewall Jackson, who won so much repute for swift marching 
and fierce onset, that few gave him, as he deserved to have, credit for as 
much ability and strategy as Lee, or any other of the generals." 

Lest the world should suppose that such encomiums were 
the offsprings of a vivid imagination, inflamed by passion, filled 



206 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

with the knightly figure of Phil, Kearny, and ringing with the 
reverberating praises of men dazzled with his gallantry — with 
the " galantuomo" of America — the following private letter 
written by a very intelligent sergeant in the First New Jersey 
Brigade (after Kearny had been in command of it several 
weeks, and while it lay near Alexandria) is a convincing proof 
that the reality was equal to the ideal in this case. Yes, indeed, 
that the reality which so seldom equals the ideal, in the case 
of the " American Bayard," actually surpassed, far surpassed it : 

"As regards our General, I will endeavor to give you some of the traits of 
his character in connection with his command. 1st. He is untiring in his 
efforts to promote the comfort and well-being of his men. For instance: I 
was standing the other day engaged in conversation with Dr. Suckley, the 
Brigade-Surgeon, who, by the way, is a first-rate man, having been in the 
United States service for the past fifteen years, when one of Gen. Kearny's 
orderlies rode up and placed a small packet in his hand with the General's 
compliments. The doctor opened it, and found wrapped up in a note twenty- 
five dollars in gold, the note saying it came from General Kearny for Dr. 
Suckley to use for luxuries for the patients in the hospital under his (Dr. 
Suckley's) charge. ' There,' said the doctor, "that is fifty dollars he has sent 
me for that purpose since we have been here, some two months.' 

"2d. His discipline is of the strictest kind; though there is never any 
thing like domineeridg or arrogance about him, yet he will have his rules and 
regulations carried out, as to drill, etc., to the very letter. 

" The brigade is fast approaching what I should judge to be its legitimate 
and proper standard of military perfection, under his unceasing endeavors to 
make it what he says it shall be, if the officers and men will only bear a 
helping hand, namely, the most useful and efficient in the service. 

"3d. When we came over into Virginia, the officers cared little, and of 
course the men cared less, about doing things by system, even that while we 
were stationed at Camp Olden, Trenton; but under his guidance no person 
would believe that this was the same body of troops ; perfect order about 
every thing, men look neater, and appear to better advantage on parades or 
reviews, and drill better. In fact, there has been a complete revolution of 
every tiling appertaining to the whole brigade. 

"4th. I can compare his popularity with the men to nothing else but to the 
French army in the days of Napoleon I; they almost worship him, and 
would follow wherever — follow, did I say? no, they would go wherever he 
points as the path of duty. 

"5th. Their confidence in his military skill is unparalleled in the history 
of this country since the days of "Washington. He seems to have every little 
item of military education and stratagem, necessary to be used in such a 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



207 



campaign as this, at his finger's ends, and, no matter what he may bo doing, 
should any officer ask liis opinion on this point, or his advice on that parti- 
cular, he will give either just as if he had been thinking of nothing else than 
the subject suggested by the question; in a word, he is a military man in the 
strictest sense of that term. His perception of the capabilities of a man for 
auy work he may be wanted for is as quick as lightning, and he only needs a 
glance. He is also very strict about members of other brigades coming inside 
our Hues without passes, and we have had orders to arrest any such found on 
the roads, or in any of the camps, while we may be on patrol duty; also, any 
of our own men found outside our lines, without passes from tlieir colonels. 
Yon can judge, by these instances, somewhat of his character a3 a disciplin- 
arian. 

"I think I have written quite enough to convince any person of his fitnes3 
for the responsible post he now occupies. The question used to be asked^ 
before he came, 'Who shall lead us on?' but now it is, 'When shall we be led 
to meet our enemies?' There are no fears of the result of such a meeting for 
an instant crossing our minds. Our final success is sure. Perhaps many will 
fall before it is attained. I may be of the number ; but if I should, I wish all 
my friends to know that I fell at my post cf duty, trusting in Him who alone 
is able to save from sin, who is on our side, aiding in putting down the most 
black-hearted and damnable rebellion the world ever knew. But I fear I 
shall weary you with this long dry letter. I am well and hearty as ever, and 
can still lift my eyes to the hills whence cometh our salvation. May God 
prosper our arms and nerve our arms for the great work before us." 

Within twenty-four hours — as stated — after receiving the 
notice of his appointment, Kearny joined his troops in front 
of Alexandria, and established his headquarters in the Episcopal 
Seminary, about three miles to the south of that venerable but 
intensely rebel city. At this time the rebel commander-in-chief, 
Joseph E. Johnston, had his headquarters in Centerville, but 
his advance occupied positions from which not only were the 
spires of the capital and the dome of the capitol visible, but 
Arlington Heights were actually within cannon shot of his out- 
posts. One of the points held by the rebels was on Munson's 
Hill, not more than six miles north-west of Alexandria, and 
Kearny was urged to withdraw from the position he assumed 
as too dangerous to be maintained. Well might Kearny 
declare that he held the very outworks of the Union lines, and 
made his brigade in the very presence of the enemy. " Do 
they forget," * * are Kearny's own indignant words, 
" that I, on the heels of Bull Run, faced the enemy with a 



208 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENT. 



Jersey brigade in advance of all the others, against all, McClel- 
LAN * * et id omne geniis^ nearly forcing me back to the 
Seminary. Do they forget me at Manassas ? My Jersey bri- 
gade that inflicted with panic the retiring enemy ?" His Third 
regiment was among the first of our troops to come into direct 
collision with the pickets of the enemy and to sufler loss in its 
ranks from rebel bullets. 

" While thua promoting the efficiency of his brigade in drill, comfort, and 
health, in which he succeeded wonderfully, he kept them all alive to the fact 
that they were soon to fight. General McGlellan had given orders to with- 
draw their outposts to a line near Washington ; General Kearnt expostulated 
successfully, and kept his troops constantly on the watch. They were the 
vanguard of the army. His object was to generate military vigilance." 

" The experience of the brigade during the fall and winter 
months was marked by but few incidents of importance, the 
time being mainly occupied in drill arid the ordinary camp du- 
ties. There wei'e now and then occasions, however, when the 
tedium was relieved by movements which served to test the 
m.ettle of the troops and prepare them for the dangers and hard- 
ships of future campaigns. The Third Regiment Was among 
the first to come into direct collision with the pickets of the 
enemy and to suffer loss in its ranks from rebel bullets. On the 
29th August, this regiment, while reconnoitering near Cloud's 
Mill, fell into an ambuscade, and lost two men killed and four 
wounded. On the same day a company of the Second Regi- 
ment had a skirmish with a body of the enemy, in which one 
man Avas wounded, the rebel loss being twelve in killed and 
injured. On the 29th of September, General Kearnt made the 
first important demonstration which had had been since Bull Run 
in the nature of reconnoissance in force, the troops consisting of 
the First Brigade, Hexamer's battery, and a company of 
Colonel Young's Kentucky Cavalry. The object of the move- 
ment being to ascertain the character of the enemy's works on 
Munson's Hill, some distance from our lines, where he was sup- 
posed to be strongly fortifying, the expedition was conducted 
with the greatest caution, and, the troops behaving with the 
greatest steadiness, though within shelling distance of the 
enemy, it was eminently successful, General Kearny obtaining 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 209 

precisely the information he wanted, and information, too, which 
proved of the greatest value as a guide in future operations. 
On the loth of October, a detachment of the First Regiment fell 
in with the enemy, mainly cavah-y, and after a brisk skirmish* 
in which they emptied a nuaiber of saddles, retired with the loss 
of three or four killed. These skirmishes Avere only important 
in so far as they trained the men to vigilance and celerity of 
movements, though they undoubtedly gave a spice to the other- 
wise dull and monotonous life of the camps." 

While thus kept in enforced inaction, Kearny's active mind 
was continually dwelling upon the best plan of operations, 
although that militarj'- sagacity and acquaintance with military 
lore, which had excited the surprise and admiration of the 
French Generals, was neither invited nor suffered to participate 
in the councils of McClellan. It is a curious fact, which the 
writer heard remarked in the fall of 1861, that McClellan 
seemed to put more confidence in his German division than any 
other in his army, and no one had more access to him than its 
commander, except some especial favorites, not one of whom 
maintained "his relative position in the Army of the Potomac 
longer than a few months after McClellan lost his own. 

As it may interest the reader to know what Kearny's views 
were in regard to the prosecution of the campaign in Virginia, 
tlie following may be considered as a sort of epitome of his 
opinions. It is founded on conversations, letters, in which 
military considerations were too much intermingled with private 
matters to permit their insertion, from remarks repeated by 
common friends, and his own indorsement of suggestions laid 
before him from time to time. To sum the whole matter up, 
Kearny was very much of the same opinion as Lord Napier 
— the one who has just acquired so much celebrity by his suc- 
cessful Abyssinian campaign — that "the way to defeat an 
Asiatic army is by going straight to their heads, on every 
occasion." Upon which a critic remarks : " We suspect this 
remark contains the first princij)le of successful war every- 
where.' 

This is undoubtedly so, provided the " forwards," or " have- 
at-them" is subordinated to the immutable laws of Strategy 
27 



210 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and Tactics, and to the rules of Practical Strategy,* which 
always involve the hardest kind of fighting, when the favorable 
opporLun ty presents itself This was invariably the case with 
every general who has left a great name behind him, and notliing 
hurled the first Napoleon from his throne but that persistent 
hammering — feints and blows — inaugurated by Blucuek, 
which matle him the idol of his Prussians, of all the soldiers he 
commanded, of the whole allied army, and a greater favorite 
with the English nation than even their own greatest man, the 
"Iron Duke" himself. 

During the fall and Avinter, while the Army of the Potomac 
in a surfeit of plethoric incapacity, was lying in the mud around 
Washington, while McClellan was weaving those airy fabrics 
of ambition which resulted in the sacrifice of as fine an arma- 
ment as ever obeyed the orders of one man, and in his own 
ultimate difticulties and removal, Kearny was engaged in mak- 
ing that famous New Jersey Brigade which was the admii-atlon 

of the army, a bi-igade of which Brigadier-General C. S. W 

wrote, on the 21st April, 1862, from the camp befoi-e York- 
town : " I am much inclined to think that Kearny's brigade 
is tiie best in the whole army ; also that New Jersey has in all 
respects fitted out her troops better than any other State. We 
have one brigade of Jersey troops in our (Hooker's) division, 
80 I can judge somewhat." 

The following note is evidence that the State of New Jersey 
itself was not backward in doing its j^eculiar duty. Would 
that all the other States had emulated such a noble example : 

Headquarteks New Jersey Volunteers, | 
Seminary, October 7, ISBl. ) 

EiB Excellency ^ Governor Olden {of New Jersey) : Sir: ****** 
I take this occasion, your Excellency, to express to you the great admiration from all, 
military and civil, who observe us, of the most liberal judicious, and enduring nature 
of all our equipments and other army supplies. As a General Officer, commauding 
troops of the State (New Jersey), I feel it as an additional incentive to us all. 
I have the honor to be, your Excellency's obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, Brigadier-General Commanding. 

* Practicai. Strategy. — "■ I readily accept from yon this expression. It comprises 
all that can be said or written upon skill in war, and 1 agree with you that this is best 
evinced by sparing the lives of its instruments as much as possible. " Lives of the 
framw,«," by General Hon. Sir Edward Oust, B. A., ISflS; "Letter Dedicatory," III. 
[Compare " Practical Strategy," as illustrated by the Achievements of Field Marshal 
Tbaun, by J. W. DE P., 1S63.] 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. oil 

The greater part of the time before the Army of the Potomac 
moved to commit that fatal error, the march up the Peninsula, 
which had its origin in mistaken judgment, its unsuccessful 
execution through incompetent handling, and its results in a 
series of disasters, halt-fought-out battles, or unimproved victo- 
ries, little better than defeats, except that so many thousands of 
the best rebel troops were swept from the board by the valor 
of our soldiers, not the generalship of their chief — General 
Kearny was engaged in a correspondence in legard to the best 
plan of operation to be adopted. Kearny was always in favor 
of a direct advance upon Richmond on the line afterwards fol- 
lowed by Grant. This, as we enjoyed the command of the 
Chesapeake and its tributaries, would have enabled the fleet 
to supply the army as it moved onward through the various 
estuaries which penetrate so far as to almost obviate the neces- 
sity of any line of supply by land, or which, at all events, by 
constantly affording new bases of supply, necessitated only very 
short and easy wagoning transportation. 

Three plans were discussed in a correspondence with Kearny. 

The first was to mask Manassas with a sufficient force to 
ensure the safety of Washington and hold the enemy in that 
quarter in complete check ; and, pi'omptly, with the balance of 
the Army of the Potomac thrown forward in echelon, fall upon 
and capture the rebel forces along the Potomac, engaged in 
blockading that river or in support. This was very much 
in the spirit of Carnot''s plan of operations in the year 
1V93,* when he restored confidence to the Republican armies, 
and converted, defeat into victory. 

* Carnot.— One of the most remarkable and snccess-fnl of the combinationp of tko 
wars of the French Revolution, executed in 1793, and due to Carnot, may be taken as 
the first example of the manner of applyini^ the Principle 1 of Strategy, viz. : " To 
have, a? the object of all operations and manoeuvres, the bringing the mass of the 
forces successively into collijion with fractions of the enemy." Carnot involved the 
Principle (1) alone in his combination, and sent the entire unoccupied French army to 
Dunkirk, with orders that, as soon as the marked numerical superiority thus given 
on that point should have decided the victory, to proceed to the next of the seven 
points " (and armies), " and when the mass of the French again brought into collision 
with a fraction of the enemy, should have again given victory, to proceed to the next, 
and so on. (Cust. 1, 4, 1793, 152-"3.) 

By this means the mass of the French was brought into coUieion with fractk>B8 of 
the enemy, in the following manner : 



212 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



The second way sketched out was to divide the army of the 
Potomac into two bodies, the smaller to move down or rather 
up the Shenandoah Valley, cleaning out the enemy as it ad- 
vanced ; the other and larger body to follow the line of the 
Orange and Alexandria railroad, the left wing on the line 
through Fredericksburg, both operating simultaneously and 
dependently. A junction was to be made through Gordons- 
ville or Charlottesville, and thence a combined blow delivered 
from the North and West upon Richmond. This was said to 
have been Grant's original idea in 1864. Such was very much 
the system on which Rosecrans acted, which carried him from 
Murfreesboro' into Chattanooga, and closely resembled the plan 
which carried Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Such 
was a course parallel to that of Grant — Sheridan taking care 



1 The Duke op York and Fkbttag were beaten — the former embarked, the latter 
retired. 

2. The army passed to Menin, and the Pkince of Grange was beaten. 

3. The army arrived at Maubeuge, and Clairpatt experienced a defeat in return. 

4. The army proceeded to the Vosfijes, and the Dtjke of Brunswick, being in a 
minority, was likewise defeated. 

5. The army having joi'ned that of the Rhine, chased Wurmser from the neighbor- 
hood of Strasburg. 

Hence, one of the most remarkable and best manoeuvres in the wars of the French 
Revolution is nothing more than a simple deduction from Principle 1. The object 
Carnot had, when forming the combination, appears to have been nothing else than to 
bring the mass of the French into collision with successive fractions oi the Coalition- 
ists. This combination was good, because it was in accordance with one of the prin- 
ciples of strategy ; had it been in accordance with two, it would have been much 
better ; if with the three first principles, as far as possible under the circumstances, 
perfect. 

The five victories produced an imperfect though a great result; because the enemy, 
being attacked in front, he was driven back on his natural and prepared lines of retreat. 

It appears that the Principle 1 might have been involved to the same extent, and the 
Principle 2 involved with it in addition, in the formation of a combination upon the 
same data, in the following manner : After the victory of Dunkirk, the French army, 
instead of attacking all the while in front, and thus losing the best part of the fruits of 
victory, should take the Meuse, with its five fortified towns, as the base of mancsuvres, 
and thus intercepting Benjowski, Clairfatt, and the Prince of Orange from their 
communications, attack them in reverse, or even in rear, defeat them (which would be 
an easier task than to defeat them in front), and drive them as vigorously as possible 
away from their lines of retreat. 

Carnot has received, generally, great honor for his combination, and merits it ; for, 
from the ordinary proceedings of the great majority of generals of his day, it is greatly 
to be feared, that, in almost any other hands than his. the additional army might have 
been divided into seven parts, and sent to reinforce the seven armies." — ^'■Elementary 
Treatise on Strategy," by Edwin Yates, B.A., London, 1855. (Second edition, pp. 14-17.) 



BIOGRAPHY OF MA JOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 213 

of the rebels in the Shenandoah Valley — after he had worked 
through the "Wilderness" and struck home at the Army of 
Northern Virginia, in Petersburg-Richmond. 

The third plan was to make Norfolk the base of operations, 
and march on Richmond through Petersburg. In the last two 
cases a sufficient force was to be left to cover Washington, which 
was to co-operate with the main body at the proper time and 
opportunity. 

The Shenandoah Valley was never to be left open, but a suffi- 
cient force was to be stationed therein to close it against any 
such attempts as were made from time to time by Jackson and 
his successors. Rosecrans was sent into the Shenandoah Val- 
ley to gather together, in 1862, the forces sprinkled about at 
random, and provide for the safety of the capital and the purg- 
ing of that channel of disastel, which was a constant scene of 
disgrace, until fiery Phil. Sheridan swept through it with the 
besom of destruction, with the steel to the bosom of the rebel 
army, and the "torch to the roof" for the rebel supplies, which 
latter course the French critic o\i our war, Roussillon, declared 
"should have been applied at the outset," and which was Avith- 
held only too long for the safety of our troops and of Washing- 
ton, and for the honor of our arms. This Shenandoah Valley, 
was, indeed, one of disaster and disgrace to the North, through 
utter want of that "practical strategy" which distinguishes key 
points and eliminates the useless while conserving the beneficial. 
Whether correctly or not; it has been stated that, " Winchester 
was taken and retaken seventy-six times;" whereas it should 
have been taken by Patterson, or rather by his motor, in July, 
1861, and never afterward suffered to relapse into the power 
of the enemy. 

During the winter and early spring, a correspondent, stimu- 
lated by the questions and approbation of General Kearny, 
was continually studying out the feasibility, the details and 
parallels of his first two propositions. In August, 1861, a de- 
tailed account was published of the campaign of the Austrians 
against Eugene Beauharnais, in 1813-14, which was almost 
analogous throughout to Kearny's second plan; and likewise 
the winter campaign of Gcergey, which was similar in its 



214 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

eifects. This system was exactly the one followed by Napoleon 
in 1797, when he with his main army advanced directly throug-h 
Friuli, while Joubhut turned the Austrian right through the 
Tyrol ; precisely as Kearny's secondary army should have . 
operated in the Shenandoah Valley, 

The same combined and simultaneous action, although not 
immediately subordinate, as in 1797, occurred in the campaign 
in which Napoleon operated in Germany, and Massena, in 
Italy, in 1805, and again in 1809, under the Viceroy Eugene, 
in Italy ; Ney, working in together to the same ends on the 
Tyrol, and Marmont from Dalmatia. In 1813 the game was 
reversed, and the French plan was put in execution against 
themselves with like successful results. 

The campaign of 1813 was a perfect reproduction of the cam- 
paign of 1797, only in 1813, the Austrians from the east, under 
Hiller, were pressing westward on the direct line followed by 
Napoleon, sixteen years previous, ' with Fenner, flanking 
through the Tyrol, retracing the steps of Joubert down the 
Adige. Had our armies operated simultaneously through the 
Wilderness and up the Shenandoah, the rebels could not have 
maintained themselves at Manassas or at any intermediate point 
on the line of the Orange and Alexandria railroad. Had they 
attempted to do so, they would have found themselves in the 
same predicament as the Russians in their retrenched camp at 
Drissa, on the Dwina in 1812. 

After the conflagration of Moscow when Kutusoff operated 
upon the French flank along the Toluga road, the game was 
reversed, and the combined operations which should have cul- 
minated on the Beresina, to the utter destruction of the French, 
only failed through the tardiness of Admiral Tschitchagofp 
and General Wittgenstein. 

JoMiNi remarks, " without doubt, the fault of Admiral Tschit- 
CHAGOFF in a very great degree contributed toward their 
extricating themselves from the scrape. * * * It is a qiies- 
tion which should be most admired, the plan of operations 
which brought the Russian armies from the extremity of Mol- 
davia, from Moscow and from Polotsk to the Beresina, as to a 
rendezvous in time of peace, which only just fell short of effect- 



BrOGRAPHY OP MA'JOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAHNY. 215 

ing the capture of their redoxibtable adversary, or the admirable 
constancy of the hero thus pursued, which succeeded in forcing 
a passage." 

A similar result to the one proposed was indicated by the 
simple occupation of Gallicia by Schwartzenberg in 1813. 
(Charras, Gtierre de, 1813, iv. 100, etc.) The French had to 
abandon Poland at once and fall back behind the Elbe. Then, 
had Prussia been ready to move, the French would certainly 
have been thrown back, with ease, beyond the Rhine. 

A French army could have lived off the Shenandoah Valley, 
which would have obviated transport; the Union army ought 
to have done so. 

In 1814, Blucher's line of advance of the Army of Silesia 
was equivalent to the " forwards " of an army up the Shenandoah, 
the main army of the Allies representing ours under Grant in . 
the Wilderness. 

Massena, as admitted by Napier, need never to have fought 
the battle of Busaco, 1810, which he lost, had he turned Wel- 
lington at the first, through the Valley of the Mondego, to the 
right, or as he afterward attempted to do, when too late, 
through Boyalva, to the left.* As an example of this course, 
take Grant's campaign of the spring of 1862. Albert Sydney 
Johnston was at Bowling Green ; the capture of Forts Henry 
and Donelson threw him back two hundred miles, beyond the 
Tennessee. 

In fact, the grand tactics, whose successful carrying out 
General Kearny witnessed at the Col de Mousaia, in 1840, 
was an exact type of the stragetical plan McClellan should 
have followed, only on a grander scale, and more extensive, but 
not more difficult theatre of action. Napoleon III conceived 
similar moves in 1859. Why they failed is incomprehensible, 
considering the generals and troops he had under his control. 
At a later date, writing upon the same subject, General 
Kearny says : " It would have been so beautiful to have pushed 
after the enemy, and in doing so, isolate Fredericksburgh, carry 
it easy, occupy that road, and thus turn those river batteries; 

* Habpbbs' Alison, III, LIX. 34S-'50, especially 350, Col : 2. 



216 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-QENEKAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

all the while near enough to Washington in case of any attempt 
upon it." 

Then as to reconnoissances in force, Kearny exactly agreed 
with GuROWSKi (recall Napoleon's demonstration the night 
before Waterloo to discover if the English were retreating or 
determined to stand the hazard of the morrow's die) : 

" McClellan acts as if he had taken the oath to some hidden 
and veiled deity or combination, by all means not to ascertain 
any thing about the condition of the enemy. 

"Any European, if not American old woman — in pants, long 
ago would have pierced the veil by a strong reconnoissance on 
Centreville. Here 'All quiet on the Potomac' " 

"And I hear generals. West Pointers, justifying this 
colossal offense against common sense, and against the rudi- 
ments of military tactics, and even science. ' Oh noble, but 
awfully dealt with American people ! ' "* 

Had McClellan ever read the extraordinary military career 
of John Cavalier, with which Kearny was well acquainted, 
and of which he often spoke, he would have understood the 
enormous advantages enjoyed by Lee, occupying a central 
position in a mountainous country, well known to him and his 
subordinates, and have provided against them, as Grant 
eventually did, or any general would have done. Cavalier, 
it is true, was a marvel of genius, a heaven-born general. A 
peasant by birth, and bred a baker's apprentice, before the age 
of twenty he became general-in-chief of the Protestants of 
Languedoc, with no other knowledge of tactics but what he had 
picked up by watching the manoeuvres of troops in the streets 
of Anduze, or acquaintance with strategy except through the 
inspiration of common sense. He never had over three thousand 
men in hand and actually engaged in a body under his com- 
mand, and never wanted more, but he kept that number always 
complete, every one of which was a picked and tried soldier. 
Like Stonewall Jackson, he was a fanatic, and his troops 
were thoroughly fanaticised, fighting with the halter around 
their necks, and worse. 

♦ GtTRowsKi's Diai-y, 1, 157. Compare 97, 127, 133, etc., with Lakgbl's " United 
States during the War," 308, 234-'6, 240, etc., etc. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GE^^ERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 217 

This, together with a discipline of iron, quadrupled their 
strength. Even all this, however, without the genius of Cava- 
lier, woixld have accomplished nothing. To and fro, like 
Frederic the Great in the Seven Years' War, he shot like a 
shuttle, and either paralyzed, held at bay, or beat sixty thou- 
siuul Royal troops, of whom twenty thousand were veterans, 
cavalry as well as infantry, well supplied with artillery, com- 
manded by one Marshal of France, three able Lieutenant- 
Genevnh, three Jlarechauqs-de- Camp, and three Brigadiers, no 
less distinguished. Marshal Montrevel estimated Cavalier's 
numbers at twenty thousand, although they never exceeeded 
tliree thousand, "forged in the fire of battle and tempered in 
the sweat of marches." Cavalier was constantly victorious in 
isolated encounters, until a simultaneous concentrated move- 
ment nearly destroyed his column at Nages, when he descended 
from his mountain fastnesses into the lowlands, cutting loose 
from his base. Nevertheless he did not succumb to any force 
of arms, although he must have finally been worn out by con- 
stant hammering. He fell a victim to a diplomacy, which, in its 
deceit, resembled that which put an end to the Algerian war 
by the seizure of Abd-el-Kader — and terminated the Seminole 
war by a similar treacherous capture of Osceola. As it was, 
the necessity of crushing him promptly and matching his genius, 
forced Louis XIV to send into the south of France the finest 
soldiers and best officers at the disposal of the French Minister 
of War. The English critic speculates with horror upon the 
effect of the presence of those generals and troops in Germany, 
but especially at Blenheim, both of which Cavalier kept fully 
employed in distant Languedoc. Had Cavalier never risen 
or been less than he was, the sun of Louis XIV would not 
have set in disgrace, and his motto of " Nec Pluribus Impar," 
" not an unequal match for numbers," might have been realized 
in an empire as extensive as that of Napoleon ; and, as it was 
based on religion, more durable. 

Indeed, the failure of the English fleet, under Sir Cloudesley 
Shovel, to co-operate with Cavalier frustrated the grandest 
plan of the Camisard leader and his adherents. Had the Eng- 
lish captains succeeded in establishing a communication with 
28 



218 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the Cevenol leaders, and furnishing them with the needed sup- 
plies, it is almost impossible, to calculate the enormous results 
which might have followed. 

But the reader may say, what has this to do with our war ? 
Everything. The plan of operations which finished Cavalier 
was the plan of Kearny who was worthy to be named with 
ViLLARS, who ended Cavalier's career as Grant ended Lee's. 
Incessant activity, simultaneous attacks of converging columns, 
allowing no respite, high-souled magnanimity blended with 
soldierly decision — no "pottering, half-heartedness," but Blu- 
CHER-like " FORWARDS," everywhere, when the tide had turned, 
and was on the rise ; and it was on the rise in the winter and 
spring of 1862. 

Kearny knew all this well. He was thoroughly posted in 
military history. His information in this regard surprised 
generals of the highest rank and ability abroad. Nevertheless, 
he could take advice from outsiders, and thankfully avail him- 
self of the industry and ability of others, even if they d'id not 
bear the trade-mark of the National. Military Academy — that 
Academy, the glory of our country in its grand men, whose 
natural greatness it so greatly develops; the damage to our 
people in the caste-influence, and prejudices it has engendered ; 
a curse almost, in particular cases, in its little men, by permit- 
ting them to claim weight for their opinions on exhibiting the 
original stamp of its mint. Sending a man to West Point who 
has not soldierly instincts in him, does not make him a soldier, 
any more than the mode of officering the English church makes 
good Christian ministers. It creates a caste like the Egyptian 
priesthood, whose members claim for every one within the pale 
all the dignities and emoluments of the office; in which indi- 
viduals may possess the spirit, but it would not be natural to 
believe that the whole did. 

Alas ! were not all of Kearny's forebodings, founded on the 
apathy and mismanagement of that fall, winter and spring, 
fully realized in the sacrifices and incapacity of the ensuing 
summer and autumn ? 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 219 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PLANS AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

Ulysses. They tax our policy and call it cowardice ; 

Count Wisdom as no member of the war; 

Forestall prescience, and esteem no act 

But that of hand. The still and mental parts, 

Tliat do contrive how many hands shall strike. 

When fitness calls them on, and know, by measure 

Of their observant toil, the enemies' weight, — 

Why, this hath not a finger's dignity : 

They call this bed-work, mappery, closet-war; 

So that the ram, that batters down the wall. 

For the great swing and rudeness of his poise. 

They place before his hand that made the engine, 

Or those that with the fineness of their soula 

By reason guide his execution. 

Shakspeare's Troilus and Cressida. 

''All the time which subsequently elapsed" on the moiTiing-of Waterloo, after Ms 
dispositions were made, " was time squandered, absolutely lost (by Napoleon) ; and 
often in war, losses of this kind can never be repaired." 

Charras' " Histoire de la Canipagne de 1815, Waterloo." 

"In this the King of France [Lincoln] established his own headquarters {Washing- 
tow]. He did not himself pretend to be a soldier, further than a natural indifference to 
danger, and much sagacity qualified him to be called such ; but he was always careful 
to employ the most skillful in that profession, and reposed in them the confidence they 
merited." Lincoln, it is stated, used to call K-e-b-n-t "his g&u&t&V—Queniin Dur- 
vcard. 

Many persons have supposed that Kearny's unfavorahle 
opinion of McClellan was subsequent to those displays of 
inability — that is, inability to adjust, direct and fight so vast 
a force as the country confided to him ;* in fact, to fill com- 
mensurately the immense role to which circumstances, to retard 
and ripen events, assigned him — an inability which paralyzed 

* " The first, most important, and prominent step in the prosecution of the war, and 
one whose consequences were felt to the end, was the defective and injurious organiaa- 
tion given to the Army of the Potomac in the winter of 18Cl-'2. It was most unfortun- 
ate, that, with the finest men and material ever furnished to any army of the world, that 
army should have been organized with so little reference to the rules of war governing 
the organization of armies," &c., Ac. Major-General A. Pleasanton's Supplementary 
Report. Examine carefully pages 3 to 6. 



220 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

our army at the best season of the year for active operations. 
This surmise is not correct. Already, in the fall of 1831, 
Kearny appears to have lost all confidence in him, from the 
fact that McClellav seemed to have lost all confidence in his 
troops. Writing from his, the headquarters of the New Jersey 
Volunteers, at the Episcopal Seminary, near Alexandria, Decem- 
ber 8, 1861, he observed : 

" I am in favor of sending for one of them " [referring to some experienced 
French general], "because I find thut General McClellan is too distrustful 
of his forces smce Baker's affair (Ball's Bluff) to adopt the true keypoint in 

strategy." 

April 16, 1862, he sums up the matter: 

" Indeed, I have been deadly opposed to the river plan, as uncovering "Waeh- 
ingtoD, without a single advantage. Besides, McClellan is too slow to 
manoeuvre out of a scrape." 

Kearny's soldiership was always too prompt and energetic, 
not only for McClellan, but for those immediately over him 
in command. Had Kearny's advice been followed, Kearny's 
"practical strategy" would have mancBuvred the rebels out of 
their insulting positions in front of Washington the fall before 
the spring they did evacuate them, and almost as soon as they 
showed themselves there. His subsequent occupation of Man- 
assas was, perhaps, taking the times and all the other attending 
circumstances into consideration, one of his most brilliant acts. 
It was not appreciated, because never properly brought before 
the people, and because the people, as a rule, appreciate no 
result of soldiership which is not purchased with lavish profus- 
ion of blood. 

When Burnside went to Albermarle Sound, he supposed the 
blow was aimed at Norfolk. " If Burnside takes Norfolk," he 
said, in efiect, " he has the key of Richmond in his hand, and 
can go in through Petersburg, if he only knows how to turn it." 

Nevertheless, Kearny was anxious to give McClellan every 
possible chance, as is shown by the following communication, 
which has not yet been published. 

It was written 15th December, 1861, at his headquarters in 
the Seminary, near Alexandria. 



BIOGHAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 221 

" As I have » * * animadverted on General McClellan, and 
btated my disappointment as to his militsry conduct of the campaign, I lose 
no time to guard you and, through you, others as to the danger of interfeiing 
with his plana, whatever they may be. Such a course, in precipitating him 
from one policy to another, would be disastrous. The administration was 
wro-DfT in exptUiog Scott — the only one fitted by his habit of victory sluA. 
undaunted teujperaraenl for handling masses. His mind was strong as ever, 
although it may have turned too much to detail, which he performed badly 
and slowly. These minor deficiencies should have been cared for for him. 
His high moral, military aud political standing were such that he should have 
been preserved by the administration as an asgis in case of mishap. And 
Willi volunteers as invaders* no military calculations from ^asi history permit 
you to be assured against it. Believe me, with a great admiration for the 
pure character of Mr. Lincoln, which all believe in, I do not think that his 
administration would survive a second Bull's Run. I am convinced that 
McClellan feels this, and is rendered over-cautious by it. But all allow him 
consummate abilities — that is, talents. f I certainly admit it myself. I deny 
him one spark of military genius, and yet an undaunted, sober courage. 

" He has been wofuUy wrong, politically; for, in the eyes of foreign govern- 
ments, our inaction can only pass for pusillanimity. He was equally wrong as 
to ilie temperament of his troops. They have less discipline today (mine 
adiiirionally, from injudicious interference, in taking from me artillery and 
cavalry merely to leave them an uncontrolled bad example in our midst) from 
useless reviews, which their good sense tells them is nonsense, and out of 
place for an array that has a stain to wipe out, and from the continuous qui 
vive in which we kept, until after Baker's affair, and which has subsided into 
the idleness of winter quarters without the boldness of avowing it. Equally 
in an ill-judged delay, as a matter of season in October the roads were firm 
(aud in this country the mere wood roads, out of season, are impassable), the 
days were long, the temperature genial, nor was there an excuse on the plea 
of material — our batteries were completed, our cavalry more than sufficient. 
As to numbers the enemy increases his force even more rapidly than we do. 

* Prussian " Seven Weeks War," in 18C6, subsequent to the Slaveholders Rebellion, 
closed 1805, certainly disproved this if our Great Civil War had not already done so. 

+ "I entertain a very high opinion of 's talents; but he always appeared to 

uie to want what is better than abilities, viz.: sound sense. There is always some 
miiJiakeu principle in what he does. 8th August, 1813, and again, ICth June, 1814, 
* * "if he had less pride and more common sense, nnd could have 

carried his measure into execution as he ought to have done, it would have succeeded " 
Wellington, "rich in saving common sense." This bears out the old adage, "com- 
mim sense is genius in its working dress." " To act with common sense, according to 
the moment, is the best wisdom I know." Horace Walpole. " Fine sense and exalted 
Bense are not half so useful as common sense." Acswahlek. Pascal has sonip very 
curious and apposite remarks on geometrical minds. Chap. IX. § III., worthy of con- 
eideration in this connection. 



222 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

And here was a false elementary computation by the general. And it was 
McClellan's plan .to have opened the game at that time. The misban of 
Baker unnerved him. He did not dare to trust bis troops if they failed at 
their tirst step. The trifling details as to a move detailed at length in army 
orders to the command (only the last care, when all else has been arranged), 
proved incontestably that such was the case. In forty-eight hours alter, I 
asserted that the day of the campaign was indcfinittly postponed. 

" However, General McClellan is not such a man of universally allowed 
taleuis not to have liis own determined line of policy. It is that I deprecate 
interfering with him now that I write, lest I may have been previously mis- 
understood. 

'"Scott is gone, and none more likely than McClellan remains. All are 
equally untried. Military habit of mind and practice of necessary military 
elements may have become instinct. Energy, militarily dir^cted, may be 
second nature. The logic of military comprehension may surpass all other 
analysis — all of which make good subaltern generals — but genius alone can 
suffice for operations of hundreds of thousands, over a space of near a contin- 
ent; and that man is yet to prove himself. 

" I have finished all my paper, and I fear have bored you with a very long 
letter. My health has a regular break-down, but I will soon be up. With 
best regard," etc. 

It is seen that in closing his letter Kearny alludes to his 
health. It is a great mistake to suppose that Kearny enjoyed 
robust health. The only time that he ever seemed to be free 
from the most distressing attacks was while he was in Africa, 
and engaged in active service in the presence of the enemy, feel- 
ing, as it were, the grating of his blade. While at Saumur, in 
1839-'40, he was often confined to his bed; when in Italy, in 
1834, he was dangerously sick. 

He used to remark that it might be said he had lived upon 
calomel ; or again, that he had taken calomel enough to kill a 
hor.se. People were often deceived in regard to his condition, 
from the fact that his energy rose superior to his bodily ailments 
the moment that duty called him into the saddle. Days of con- 
stant exposure and activity were often succeeded by sleepless 
suifering, when nature most demanded the recuperation of re- 
pose. He aged terribly during the short period of his general- 
ship, and was very grey when he fell. 

Again he wrote, still from the same spot seven weeks after- 
ward. 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 223 

HEADQUARTERS NEW JPIRSEY BRIGADE, 
Camp Seminary, Va., February 8, 1862. 

" Tours * * * have been received. IC was a truly military 
treat, and evinced what I claim for you as a specialite in talents, a wonderful 
command effaces from the past, with a genius in their adaptation to evolve 
particular theories for a future. 

" You have placed Gcergey's campaign in a most impressive light before 
me. I had read the same book, and had almost forgotten it. I rt-ad it, 
although an American officer,' more as a, polHical tlieme; at best only in a tacti- 
cal lii^ht, and without particular reference to the map. 

" After one general glance at it, for main points, you prove that you studied 
it in the light of strategy. One thing is certain ; it was a Wintei-'s Campaign 
and each battle was fought with as much artillery as we possess. * * * 

" Still, there is much that is different, if you adduce it as a Strategy, that ia 
applicable to ourselves. I do not regard it as such, further than as a proof 
of the power of overcoming obstacles. 

" Gcergey's army was never more than what would be two to three or four 
of our divisions, the Austrians small in proportion ; whereas the theatre of 
war was boundless. 

"Our armies are about 400.000 to 500,000 of a side, and although extending 
across 1,000 miles, being intersected by mountains, are both separate and 
united, at least admit of no manoeuvring around our enomy. 

" There are but two plans open to us. 

" To manoeuvre against Richmond or New Orleans. As to the value of these 
two objective points of strategy, I maintain that, whilst New Orleans is the 
easiest, and yields the greatest extent of country for a capture, that Rich- 
mond, from its moral importance, is the point which will prove the most 
decisive, and would carry with it the Valley of the Mississippi, and would 
isolate the war to almost only South Carolina ; at all events to the extreme 
Secession States. 

" General Scott, partly as a very great tactician (I believe that the war 
would have been finished by this time had he remained in command), and 
principally as a Virginian, decided for the Kentucky theatre of war. 

" It is very certain that this is also McClellan's. One is led to suppose so 
from the agglomeration of forces there. They are nearly two-thirds in excess 
of the enemy, besides the flotilla. 

"That the enemy must fall back, beaten or otherwise, and Tennessee be 
overrun (provided, as would be the case, we detach some 50,000 picked men 
from this army to the West, McClellan going in person), and New Orleans 
taken, is a certainty. 

"The only question which would arise are, in the first place: Beauregard 
would occupy the Alleghanies, and prevent any entrance into Virginia, witli 
far more facility than he ever does at Manassas. In the second place, if 
Beauregard is gifted with genius (and those who know him intimately, with 



224 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

a life-longf experience, although they deny it, in their hearts accord it to him), 
he naay, when our arm'es are launched well South, operate himself in our 
rear, and with a last effort in Tennessee jeopardize, if not destroy, our previ- 
ously victorious career.* 

"I maintain, therefore, that, although the river courses and its commercial 
importance point out the Vallpy of the Mississippi for us to adopt as our Hue 
of operations, that Richmond, though at present the more difificuU and 
apparently phy-ically, ^ materiellement,'' the less important, is, in fact, the 
object we should strive for; ^ materiellement,'' also, because, that taken, 
Virjjinia would be found full of Unionists. 

"North Carolina would declare itself so, without a blow. We then have 
the dehojiches of the Alleghanies in our favor, since their population is with 
us, and form the key-point of the corners of the Middle States and Southern 
States, we palsy all, overrun the still rebellious, demand New Orleans and the 
Mississippi banks to reassume against factionists, their comforts, their com- 
merce, their welfare, and their peace. 

" So much for my reasoning. The problem I consider nearly reduced to the 
tactical, and I would like you to consider this, and tell me how best to dis- 
lodge the people from Manassas. 

" For myself I say, that it is even now to be d-^ne as it would have been much 
better done in September, in October, even in November, viz., rapidly to mask 
Manassas, and simultaneously with troops from all quarters, even Bnltirriore, 
fall oh Johnston. He and all beyond him would be cut off, or get back most 
rapidly into Manassas. "We could take and hold Winchester, ■{• and thfn com- 
mence a turning move, cutting the rebels from the Rappahannock; all this 
while offering them a pitched battle. If they themselves disposed (they 
would be f )rced) to come out of their intrenchments at Manassas to get it. 
We are superior to then?, and I do not see why, in masses, we should not fi ht 
as well, and if we are to be beaten, then the ofcener we are beaten the sooner 
we will learn to fight. It is the history of all beaten people, who have men 
and money in superabundance. 

"Another plan seems to me to mask Manassas towards their right, and 
then with forty thousand men, destroy their thirty thousand men south of 
us from Occoquan Creek to Aquia, &c. This, also, would most probably force 
them to fight in the open fit Id, and then to seize Fredericksburg and thus 
communicate with expeditions up the York river, or James and (al'hoiigh it 
has some fearful difSculiies) thus attack Richmond almost from the rear 
(from the north and north-west). 

* The reader will see herein foreshadowed Bragg's Kentucky campaign of 1S62, Init 
more particularly Hood's desperate venture, which was checked before Nashville, 
December 15th and 16th, 1S64. 

t Winchester was considered an important stragetic point before the Revolntion, 
and was fortified at the earliest date of the Anglo-Colonial-Freuch Wars. '■Memoir 
of Gen. Gkaham," Ediuburg, 18G3. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 225 

" N'ow I am very anxious to have you give me your views jwo and con, and 
as to feasibilities. In the idleness of our camps, we the poor generals, discuss 
ad Ubilum, all these plans, inasmuch as General McClellan's policy is to 
exclude every one from his presence. At first there were a few generals 
admitted to see him (about the time of his reviews). Latterly there is nobody. 
Some generals, as Heintzelman, &c., &c., have not seen him at all, except at 
thHse reviews, and the others almost not at all. This quality of reticence and 
secrecy are valuable qualities in a man like Louis Napoleon, or in one of 
genius — a quality other than mere talents — but I consider it most unfortunate 
in McClellan. Talents he has ; genius ho has not. The trifles in the army, 
wliich in results, swell to essentials from their utter mismanagement, prove 
that McClellan (even if from our great resources he succeeds) is at the anti- 
podes of that genius, which, like the first Napoleon, could dispense, if he 
pleased, with all aid, since in the midst of a campaign, he could regulate the 
smallest supplies of a newly organizing regiment. So far * * * from 
your not being able to advise for large bodies of men, none that know you 
wdl disclaim it. If thero exists a preventive, it is that you take the world 
a little bit too much by force instead of receiving it in practical working 
order, such as human nature constitutes it. But I have not the slightest 
doubt, but that your friends will gradually be able to bring your utility more 
into notice." 

Again, Kearny wrote from Alexandria, on the 19tli February, 

1682: ■ ■ 

" Saturday evening I received a telegraph notice of the serious illness of 
' Archie ' (his idolized son). I took forty-eight hours' leave, arrived home 
Sunday at dawn, comforted Agnes, I believe witnessed a favorable change in 
the disease" (typhoid fever) " of my boy, and left on Monday at 11 p. m. 
Arrived yesterday in time to take my place, at 10 a. m. on the Board, I had 
been detailed to (clothing and uniform), and at night went to my brigade. * * 

" I have to thank you for four interesting letters, although not meeting fully 
my hopes. I had hoped that as to passing pieces in the mud that you would 
have been able to have remembered to have joined in your extensive reading 
positive facts as to what had been used. 

" The printed matter you sent me was most interesting.' Ton have a won- 
derful faculty of introducing and printing for the public, subjects that are 
apropos. 

"The notions are good; as to certain points ; as to masking Manassas, it 
may have been originally yours, but it also belongs to General McDowell and 
others. 

" It spoke for itself; the moment you could not force them. As to the idea 

of Albemarle Sound, I know that it was yours a long while since. I am 

quite ready to suppose, that you were treated thus * * * precisely 

because you had given to him, or others (his staff) ideas which struck him as 

29 



226 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

feasible; that he intended to adopt them, (or they might have coincided with 
his actual plans,) and feared lest by an interview, he might betray the 
importance he attached to them ; or it might truly be, that he is necessarily 
so overworked, that he could not find time to see you. 

"There is so much indiscretion, even treachery, that McC has made 

a rule to see few officers. 

" Heintzelman and most of the generals never see him ; I think that he is 
wrong, for much escapes him that ought to be done, and especially since he 
is an engineer; and since he has brought so many other engineers, and put 
tbem in high places, who are as ignorant as himself. I sometimes think, that 
C. F. Smith, and Grant, and Buell will cut him out, although I am quite 
ready to believe that no person surpassed McC as a man of great tal- 
ents, as a mathematician and calculator. He is also a man of real courage, 
although I find in many occasions that he has been guilty of ^ tatonnemenV 

But all allow that McC is a superior man. I am sorry to say, that I 

think, that he wants first what General Scott excelled all military men 
in, his genius for command (the innate knowledge of handling men), and yet 
you are of the opinion that Scott was overrated. 

" I refer you to the French School of Generals, where elan and tactical pow- 
ers of mind elevate the officer, and are regarded as procuring success far more 
than strategic subtlety. For myself, I know of no one short of Napoleon, in 
this century, that has equalled Scott ; and it is to be remembered that he led 
his men to the bayonet charge, at a period when all had been in the habit of 



Before closing this chapter, a couple of paragraphs from the 
Address of Cortlandt Parker, Esq., are too apposite to be 
omitted — even although they embrace what may seem to be a 
repetition of ideas already presented — since they contain extracts 
from Phil. Kearny's letters, reflecting on passing events : 

" And so the autumn of 1861 rolled on ; Kearnt, and a few like him, impa- 
tiently longing for the order to advance; Ball's Bluff checking and delaying 
it, and carrying sorrow and almost dismay to the hearts of the Northern 
patriots; Dranesville, partially reassuring them, the victories south and west 
invigorating the resolution of the Nation; General McClellan bustling hither 
and thither, reputed busy and successful in organization ; the Cabinet, the 
President and the Nation, waiting long, at first with full, then with scarce 
half confidence in the commanding General, for the moment when, with the 
advance of the Army of the Potomac, the haughty Confederacy should dis- 
appear. 

"It was not long, however, before the lynx-like perception of General 
Kearny saw the truth as to his commanding General, and he expressed it, 
not insubordinately, but confidentially, and with many cautious and generous 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 227 

hopes that he might be mistaken. In October, 1861, he writes: 'I see a 
vacillation in his great objects, allowing small objects to intrude.' ' That Gen- 
eral McCLELLAN.'he writes, in February, 1862, 'has had full sway for his great 
specialite — talents of calculation and long-headedness — is most fortunate for 
him and the country. But the United States alone, of all countries, could have 
supplied by her wonderful virgin resources for a want of genius of command 
which would, early in September have decided, by timely fighting and maneuver- 
ing, what we were doing noiv by dead momentum. Fifty thousand more troops 
on the Potomac would have maneuvered the enemy, with sure success, out of 
Manassas in September last; England would not have insulted us; foreign 
powers not been doubtful of us; the greatness of the American name been more 
immediately vindicated, and the terrific expenses been saved by a speedy termi- 
nation of the war.' March 4th, 1862, he speaks more decidedly: 'Although 
there is no one exactly to replace McClellan, I now proclaim distinctly that, 
unless a chief, a line officer not an engineer, of military pre«%e (success under 
tire with troops), is put in command of the Army of the Potomac (leaving 
McClellan the minor duties of General-in-Chief), we will come in for some 
awful disaster; the only person to take his place is General C. F. Smith, in the 
Army of Kentucky.' 

" Up to this time he and General McClellan had never clashed. These 
opinions were the result of his observation, and very much of his conviction 
that Ball's Bluff was really an advance from which McClellan shrunk back 
and threw the blame on General Stone unjustly — scared by the first disaster. 
Not long after he saw himself what he deemed evidence of the inferiority of 
McClellan's genius, and thenceforward he was decided in his depreciation 
of him.'" 



228 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE SECOND ADVANCE TO MAl^ASSAS. 

" New Jekset Blues, the bold and true, 
Though small the State, the men though few, 
They prov'd, in eighteen sixty-two, 
They'd deeds of seventy-six outdo; 
New Jersey Blues, ye bold and true. 
Were worthy Keauny, Kearny you!" 

" Like all the troops from this State (New Jersey), their gallant conduct during the 
years that the command existed, rendered invaluable aid to the National cause." 

Capt. Blake's " Three Years in the Army." 

"Dorset is fled to Richmond." 

Richard in. 

" ' Charge, Chester, charge ! On, Stanley, on ! 
■Were the last words of Marmion." 

Scott's ^^ Marmion." 

" No man shed tears for noble Mutius ; 
He lives in Fame that died in Virtue's cause. 

Titus Andronictjs. 



Gloster. " Now is the winter of our discontent 

Made glorious summer by this ' son ' of York." 

"Hos EGO gloriosos feci tulit alter honores." 



Richard III. 



Virgil. 



" And now he writes * * for his redress : 
Sweet scrolls to fiy about the streets of Rome ! 
What's this, but libelling against the Senate, 
' And blazoning our injustice everywhere ?" 

Titus Andronicus. 

The fall of 1861 had been wasted. It was a season admirably 
adapted to military movements. This is admitted by all the 
generals who testified before the Committee on the Conduct 
of the Wax*. The winter also had drifted away in inaction. 
McClellan, "from his comfortable house in Washington, is- 
sued orders to all the military forces of our country," while, 
throughout, the rebels continued to flaunt their insulting ensigns 
within sight, not only of our camps, but almost of our Capital. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 220 

This they may be said to have blockaded (in the same degree that 
Scbastopol Avas besieged), since their batteries commanded the 
Potomac, and menaced any foraging parties — sorties, in fact 
— wliich ventured beyond our lines. Even Drainsville, so 
highly honorable to our arms, had been a mere sporadic eft'ort, 
altogether without results, except the glory acquired by the 
troops engaged. That which had made Kearny most indig- 
nant at the outset was the rebel occupation of Munson's Hill,* 
and a friend, in constant communication with him, recorded that, 
if his suggestions had been attended to, or his proposition had 
been accepted, the enemy would have been driven out at once, 
ignominiously, if not actually captured. As on so many other 
occasions, Kearny's proposition to move out against them was 
made known to the rebels by some traitor within our lines 
almost as soon as it was suggested ; and they availed them- 
selves of this, so as to render the contemplated manoeuvre as 
unnecessary as unadvisable.f 

The spring at length arrived. The general-in-chief now 
talked of moving, in the worst season for military movements, 
after having wasted the best, since it is indisputable that, as a 

* " Camp Sherman," Washington, Sept. 27, 1861. 
"Tlie rebel flag is now waving in sight of the President's house. I, myself, saw it, 
though unable to distinguish the colors. The place is Munson's Hill, three and a half 
or four miles from the city. Daily skirmishes take place in hearing of the city ; even 
now I hear the report of musketry in the distance, and perhaps some good soldier has 
fallen in defense of his country, while I have been writing these three lines." — iSoldie?''s 
Letter., by Ltdia Minturn Post. 

tThat we made no reconuoissances in force at this time is most astonishing, utterly 
inexplicable. Gurowski, in his Diary from March, 1861, to March, 1862, refers ,to this 
at page 157 : " McClellan acts as if he had taken the oath to some hidden and veiled 
deity or combination, by all means not to ascertain any thing about the condition of the 
enemy. Any European, * * long ago would have pierced the veil by a strong 
reconnoisaance on Centreville. Here ' All quiet on the Potomac' And I hear Gene- 
rals * * justifying this colossal offense against common sense, and against the 
rudiments of military tactics, and even science. Oh, noble, but awfully dealt with 
American people." 

On the subject of reconnoissances the military reader is referred to " Theorie Gene- 
rale des Reconnaissances Militaires, raise en Concordance avec le Reglemcnt sur le 
Service des Armees en Campagne ot deduite des Pratiques les plus usitees dans les 
Guerres Modernes ; ouvrage compose pour S. A. R. le Due de Brabant, et offert a ce 
Prince en manuscrit illustre ; par Victor-Severin Sobieski de Janina, Capitaine com- 
mandant la 5o batterie montee, an 2e Regiment d'Artillerie Beige, ex-premier Eleve de 
I'Ecole, d'application de Varsovie. Librarie Militaire, de J. Dumaine (Ancjenne Maison 
Anselin), Rue et Passage Dauphine, 30, Paris, France." 



230 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

rule, our finest weather is in the fall, especially that lovely 
period " Indian Summer," when the balmy atmosphere of the 
spring is tempered by the bracing coolness of the autumn. 

In the second week, " the Ides of March," the rebels evacuated 
Manassas, but not altogether, as they still held their immense 
works with a rear guard and made a display of maintaining the 
post.* According to their own accounts, their determination to 
do so was not influenced by any action on our part. To those 
who place implicit faith in oiRcial reports, there is no benefit to 
be derived from the discussion of their motives. It is not likely, 
however, that they abandoned such scientific and extensive 
works as they had erected at Centre ville and Manassas, if they 
had not been kept thoroughly advised of the contemplated 
movements of the Army of the Potomac. Joe Johnston, who 
had succeeded Beauregard in the chief command in front of 
Washington, at the close of January, 1862, was not the man to 
abandon an inch of groixnd which could be contested with ad- 
vantage.f As Kearny's report, in regard to his j^articipation 
in that admirably executed advance which drove their rear 
guard out of their immense works was " suppressed" * * 
by McClellan,§ it is very likely that he had accomplished 
much more and deserved far more credit than his superior, pre- 
judiced and partial, was willing to bestow upon an independent 

* According to Townsend's Cyclopedia, vol. R, 21, 62: quoting Herald, 12th March, 
1862, etc.: The rebels advanced to Vienna to cover preparations for retreat. Kearny 
was sent to guard the party rebuilding the bridge at Beck's (Burke's) Station, March 
10th. Vienna, according to the map at hand, is only 12 miles due west of Washington. 

t See ''Battle Fields of the South,'' chap, xis, page 161 and 163-'4. 

§ CoRTLANDT Parker, General Kearny's particular friend and counsel, at page 13, 
of " Philip Kearny, Soldier and Patriot," uses these words : * * " General Mc- 
Clellan suppressed his report, as if not entirely pleased with the occurrence." The 
writer applied to the War Department through influential friends (to whom he tenders 
hie warmest thanks for their assistance), and all the replies agreed as to there being no 
such report to be found. In McClellan's own report, at the place where the evacua- 
tion is referred to (pages 122, " Emmifs Worlcs at and near Manassas,'" etc., to page 132, 
where the subject of Manassas is dismissed) General Kearny's name is not mentioned, 
neither the services of his brigade ; nor is there any reference to General Kearny's 
own especial report, which is not to be found, nor those of his subordinates, of which 
copies are annexed to this chapter. 

Since this was written, an officer of the United States Army, holding a Major-Gene- 
ral's command at that time, remarked that he had heard the Kearny report (referred 
to) spoken of and discussed. 



i 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 231 

thinker, out-spoken, and filled with ideas antagonistic to his 
policy. 

In the preparation of that portion of this biography which 
relates to the occurrences of 1862, it was determined that 
Keakny himself, eye-witnesses and disinterested narrators 
should be permitted, as far as possible, to tell the whole story. 

"lu March, 1862, the rebels evacuated Manassas, hastened thence by the 
enterprise and dash of General Kearny. It is but justice to notice this, for 
his reports never saw the light. Indeed, that affair, instead of helping his 
advancement, evidently and most wrongfully retarded it. "We will tell the 
story in his own words, under date of March 12, 1862 : 'I was on the Uni- 
form Board ;* dined with the Prince De Joinyille on Thursday ; the next day 
leisurely got up and went to the ferry to go to camp. I was just going on 
board the steamer when General Sumner got off, and said quite excitedly and 
flurried to me, ' Why, your brigade is off; ordered to Burke's Station to relieve 
General Howard in guarding a railroad party.' I hurried to camp ; found 

the brigade still there ; went to Franklin's headquarters ; he was in W , 

and, by telegraph, sent us varying orders from moment to moment, as if all in 
"W were undecided. Finally, late in the day, orders came to take forty- 
eight hours' rations, and be prepared to remain two days at Burke's. It was 
three o'clock ; tlje troops looked elegantly, and although the march was awful 

* The following letter in connection with this Uniform Board has interest, Inasmuch 
as it refers to a common friend, whose appointment from civil life proves that the 
Militia can produce officers of the highest capacity as well as West Point. It is not 
well to forget that the Militia, in the famous defence of Lille, rivalled the Regulars led 
by the famous Boufflers; and this has been the case often elsewhere, even incur 
own war. 

HEADQUARTERS NEW JERSEY BRIGADE, ) 
Camp Seminary, January 21, 1S62. f 

" Your most interesting letter still affords me subject of reflection, and, strange to 
Fay, the Burnside expedition seems to be about to realize your project as to Albemarle 
Sound" (the advance on Richmond, through Petersburg, from the base of Norfolk). 

" I think that I thanked you for the interesting extracts you forwarded me from the 
useftil translations made by you from the German. * * * It was a noble pearl before 
conceited ***** i have recently been thrown into contact, most agreeably, 
with General Buttbbfield. He seems a charming gentleman and of the right mate- 
rial. I give you credit for your discernment to him. He has been brought forward 
entirely by regular officers, * * * and therefore solely on his merits. I have ever 
eaid that his Twelfth regiment was one of the most superbly set up regiments that I 
have ever seen in any quarter of the globe, and principally composed of raw men (so 
much the better for him with his good discipline). * ♦ * The South must crack and 
crash." * * * 

Again he speaks delightfully of the same General, 28th April, 1862 : " I saw our noble 
friend Buttebpield yesterday ; he was General in the Trenches. He is bound to be a 
very distinguished officer ; he has a peculiar gift of administration, and great militaiy 
spirit, and is a noble-hearted fellow." 



232 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

owing to the roads, they kept up their spirits. It was four o'clock, daybreak, 
■when I arrived at Burke's. I slept an hour, mounted a fresh horse, and gal- 
loped about until twelve with General Howard and others, studying my 
position. I was then galloppiug about, except a nap for two hours, on other 
frosh horses, till nine at night. The next day I ascertained by negroes that 
the enemy were preparing to leave. I immediately pushed on with my troops 
and manoeuvered in all directions, all which resulted in my driving them back 
everywhere, I kept applying for orders, which were not sent me, but still I 
kept on. General McClellan's whole movement has been thus brought 
about. 

'• 'I was the first to enter the stronghold at the Junction. My Third New 
Jersty planted their flag, and I was returning to Ceutreville when I met 
General McClellan and all his staff, and some two thousand horse, approach- 
ing with skirmishers, as if we were Secessionists.* They had done the same 
thing in advancing to Fairfax Court House, which I had taken some twenty- 
Ibur hours previously." 

According to a Philadelphia correspondent: "The smoke was still rising 
from the black ruins of the numerous quarters and storehouses recently fired. 
Some of the quarters, which had not been fired, were filled with articles of 
value, which time had not permitted their owners to carry away. There 
were provisions enough to last the regiment for a week, and of good quality. 
The men were not slow to appropriate what lay before them. Among other 
things found were barrels of eggs, already cooked by the fire. General 
Kearny was with the advance all day, and gave the men free access to 
everything left behind. As ho rode into the works, after their occupation, 
and drew up in front, of our line, lifting his cap under the Stars and Stiipes, 
three rounds of applause welcomed the hero of Cherubusco and the San 
Antonio Gate. 

" In approaching Manassas on this occasion. General Kearny expanded his 
brigade over the country, so as to make the enemy think him the van of the 
whole army. Hence they made a precipitate retreat, leavmg the very meal 
they were about to make untasted, for the use of their adversaries. It was a 
bold, skillful, and energetic movement, and deserved a commendation which it 

* " General McClellan, advancing in consequence of information received from 
General Kearny, accompanied by his staff and two tliousand liorse, was met by General 
Keabnt as lie was returning to Centreville. The advancing party had skirmishers in 
front, and were altogether unprepared, but of course greatly delighted, to find that they 
had encountered, not Secessionists, but their own tvoops,''— Newark Daily Advertiser 
March I'Xth, 1862. 

" I am glad enough to hear that the Jersey Volunteers under General Kearny's com- 
mand were the first to occupy Manassas. They were eleven miles in advance of any 
other part of the army in that direction ; and when General McClellan and his staff 
were on their way, they met General Kearny rctimiing, and when General McDoweli, 
reached the village he found it in possession of part of General Kearny's brigade, as 
before stated. 

" I am so glad that this was a fact." — E. W. L., Uth March, 1862. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 233 

did not receive. His Division commander, he thought, evidently disliked it, 
and General McClellan suppressed his Report, as if not entirely pleased with 
the occurrence." 

Compare Avith the foregoing the account of a war-correspond- 
ent, who accompanied this advance : 

"The occupation of the three successive points — Fairfax Court-House, 
Centreville and Manassas — has neither been fully nor accurately stated. 
They were all taken possession of without bloodshed; but not without danger 
and daring. 

" The 2d New Jersey regiment reached Sangster's Rail Road Station on Sun- 
day (9th March), between three and four p. m., over eleven miles in advance 
of any other part of the army in that direction, and by the boldness of the 
movement led the rebel forces in that neighborhood to believe that a large 
national force was at its back, and both rebel cavalry and infantry were seen 
by the regiment to fly at its approach. 

" In the meantime the New Jersey troops, under Captain Van Sickle and 
Lieutenant Holt, advanced by the Cross Roads upon this village, and took 
possession of it about 5^ p. M. Sunday, the bulk of the rebel cavalry retreat- 
ing before them. 

" Troops were left at the junction of the Cross Road with the old Braddock 
Road, with orders to advance cautiously towards Centreville. 

" The next morning an advance guard of the 1st regiment, consisting of 
Company B, entered Centreville, followed by the remainder of the regiment 
about n A. M. 

" The same day (Monday) the 3d New Jersey scouted the country in front 
of Sangster's Station, and at li Tuesday morning entered Manassas. 

" Cooking fires were found still burning, and even coffee pots on them boil- 
ing, food spread out on tables, &c., with other evidences of hasty leave-taking, 
and, for once, of a movement on our part being made without the rebel's pre- 
vious knowledge. A large quantity of subsistence stores, small arms scattered 
about, tents, &c., were also left behind. The cannon had all been removed, 
and some of them replaced by logs of wood painted in imitation of their pre- 
decessors. The rebel's cars were heard by our advanced troops running all 
day Sunday — now supposed to be engaged in withdrawing their artillery. 
Col. AvERiLL, acting Brigadier, made a reconnoisance on Manassas Plains on 
Monday night, but did not enter the fortifications at the junction." 

Thei*e was just enough fighting to show what might have 
been done had Kearny been let loose on the Vth, instead of 
being pulled to and fro by see-saw orders. 

One of the most brilliant cavalry exploits of the Great Ameri- 
can Civil War occurred during these brushes with the enemy's 
30 



234 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

rear-guard. This was the charge of First Lieutenant Harry B. 
Hidden, of ISTew York city, with a sei-geaut and twelves men of 
the 1st N. Y. (Liucohi) Cavalry. Kearny had "ordered him 
to move forward cautiously and feel the enemy's position." 

On Sunday, 9th March, he fell in with the pickets of the 
enemy, a score in number, and drove them in, till tinally he was 
suddenly surrounded by a hundred and fifty of the enemy. The 
alternative was to cut his way out, or to surrender at discretion. 
" Will you follow me ? " said the unshrinking ofticer, " To the 
death ! " was the unanimous reply; and through the rebel ranks 
they hewed their way, turning not to the right or left till they 
emerged from the forest at Sangster's station, the enemy either 
fleeing or laying down their arms before them. After this daring 
action, and while making their way to the camp, with thirteen 
prisoners, one to each man, one of the skulking assasins, who 
had laid down his ai'ms, seized his musket and shot the retiring 
officer dead upon the spot. 

The ball entered the back, near the top of the shoulder, and 
passed out through the neck under the chin, severing numerous 
blood vessels, whose profuse bleeding soon closed the career of 
one of the most promising men in our army. 

Lieutenant Hidden was possessed of the most manly beauty, 
beloved by all who knew him, and by none more than his com- 
panions in arms. 

General Kearny has stated that this charge has not been 
surpassed in gallantry by any during the war, and it is the 
general theme of conversation among those cognizant of it in 
Washington and Alexandria. 

According to another account, " Kearny, who saw the whole 
movement, declared, it to be one of the most brilliant he had 
ever seen, and took each man by the hand on his return and 
complimented him for his bravery." 

With a praiseworthy liberality, which, had it been imitated, 
would have filled our country with the most interesting memo- 
rials of the war, Hidden's family had a large picture painted 
of this little affair, which sparkles like a gem of the first water 
amid so much paste. The pictui-e is a study in itself, from the 
^attention paid by the artist to costume and accessories. It 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAX PHILIP KEARNY. 235 

hangs on the staircase of the New York Historical Society, and 
iu itself is a valuable piece of history. 

As this advance and occupation of Centreville and Manassas 
was a very important incident in Kearny's career, and 
one almost unknown to his countrymen, too much evidence 
cannot be brought together in establishing the fact beyond 
doubt or cavil. John S. Foster, in his "New Jersey in the 
Rebellion," presents the following statement : 

'' Meanwhile the torpor which had characterized the War Department, and 
operated as a check upon all movements in the field, had been dissipated by 
the selection of Edwin M. Stanton, a man of rough but inexhaustible energy, 
as Secretary, in place of Simon Cameron, and a vast army having been 
accumulated on the south of the Potomac, on the 27th of January, 1862, an 
order was issued by the President, directing General McClellan to 'impel all 
the disposable force of the army,' on or before February the 22d, for the seiz- 
ure and occupation of a point upon the railroad north-westward of Manassas 
Junction. The Commander-in-Chief, however, by inducing the President to 
consent to an advance upon Richmond, by way of the Peninsula, obtained a 
practical suspension of this order, and no advance, consequently, was made 
at the time designated by the Executive. All this time, however, General 
Kearny, restive under constrained inaction, was watching with sleepless vigi- 
lence for opportunity to show the folly of inactivity, and at length he realized 
his desire. On the Tth of March his Brigade was ordered to Burke's Station, 
on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, for the purpose of guarding a party 
of laborers, and reaching there, on the following day, made an extended 
reconnoissauce of the country for several miles around. Subsequently, he 
was informed by some negroes, that the enemy was preparing to leave Manas- 
sas.* He was not slmv to act iipon this hint. 

"Apprising General Franklin of the information received, but without 
awaiting orders, he at once pushed on with his troops, throwing out skirmish- 
ers over a wide extent of country, and driving steadily before him the scat- 
tered pickets of the enemy. On the 9th the Second and Third Regiments, 
with a squadron of the Lincoln Cavalry, occupied Sangster Station, a point on 
the Alexandria railroad, about five miles from Bull Run and nine from Manas- 
sas Junction ; the Fourth Regiment acting as support to the advance. Here 
they surprised a detachment of Rebel cavalry, killing three, and capturing a 
lieutenant and eleven men, and losing one officer of the cavalry, killed at the 
first fire. The First Regiment had, meanwhile, advanced to Fairfax Court 
House, whence, on the morning of the 10th, a detachment under Major Hat- 

* "Rebel reports show that their (rebel) evacuation of their winter camps was com- 
ploted on this very day," 8th March, 18C2.— Poster, page 71 to text pages 70-72. " The 
rebels advanced to Vienna to cover their preparations for retreat."— Townsend's 
(gigantic) Cyclopedia of the War, R. 21, 62, March 10th. Herald, March 12th, 1862. 



236 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

FIELD and Captain Van Sickle was sent forward to Centreville, which place 
was entered about noon — the remainder of the regiment coming up shortly 
after, under Lieutenant-Colonel McAllister. On the same day, the remainder 
of the brigade, pushing cautiously forward, reached, and at ten o'clock in the 
morning, entered the abandoned works at Manassas Junction — eight compa- 
nies of the Third Regiment being the first to take possession, and hoist the 
regimental flag. The withdrawal of the enemy at this point had evidently 
been precipitate, and an immense amount of hospital and commissary stores 
was found, together with eighty baggage-wagons, several locomotives, four or 
five cars, two hundred tents, and other property of value. Among the trophies 
were also seven flags, one of white silk, with the motto, ' Carolinians in the 
Field — Traitors, Beware,' and another bordered with heavy silver fringe, 
with the inscription, ' State Rights : Sic Semper Tyrannis.' " 

Any one who is familiar with the grand operations of war, 
will perceive that Kearny's advance on this occasion, very 
much resembled one, with which every one who pretends to be 
acquainted with military history, ought to be aware, that of 
!Seydlitz on Gotha, in 1757. 

At the same time, the sudden abandonment of their hutted 
camp by the rebels, calculated to have been caj^acious enough 
for 60,000 men, and presenting certain evidence to a soldier's 
eye, that it had recently sheltered 30,000, resembled the flight 
of the Syrians, in the days of King Jorara." These had been 
investing Samaria, and reduced it to great straits, when, they 
became impressed with the idea that they were about to be 
attacked by overwhelming numbers, and fled for their lives, 
leaving their camp even as it was. 

About two thousand two hundred and fifty years after this 
occurrence, during the Italian war of 1848, something similar 
took place, when that obstinate octogenarian, Radetskt, ate up 
Charles Albert's dinner at Codogno. 

Neither of these are the case in point referred to. The ex- 
ample of Seydlitz, however, is apposite almost to ihe letter. 

In October, 1757, the French and Franco-Germans advanced 
with the expectation of getting possession of Torgau, Witten- 
berg, Leipsic, and especially Dresden, depots as important to 
Prussia at that period, as Washington* to us at all times. 



* General Mitchell, in his " Biograpliies of Eminent Soldiers," Frederic the 
Great, page 306, says the delay of Marshal Soubise at Halberstadt saved Magdeburg, 
whose loss to Prussia would have been equivalent to that of Washington in our case. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



237 



Oil the 13th (l9th) October, Seydlitz, an officer most famous 
as a leader of cavalry, was detached by Frederic the Great, 
to Avatch the enemy. Remarkable as he was in the conduct 
of his own proper arm, Seydlitz displayed equal capacity in 
the direction of every other, and of all the arms combined. 

It is more than likely that several of the victories credited 
to Frederic were due to the generalship of Seydlitz, his eye, 
head and hand; Freyberg, in 1'762, certainly was in this union 
of qualities. Kearny closely resembled this Prussian. Both, 
bred cavalry officers, were as sagacious strategists and as per- 
fect tacticians as they were hard fighters. It is more than 
probable that Frederic's greatest defeat at Cunersdorf might 
have been averted, or greatly lessened in degree, had not Seyd- 
litz been stricken down, severely wounded, even as Kearny 
was killed, at a crisis. 

In advance of the main Prussian army, the dispositions of 
Seydlitz, which cleared the French out of Gotha, were elegant. 
Frederic cannot repress his admiration.* 

Just as Kearny, in approaching Manassas, expanded his 
brigade over the country, so as to make the rebels imagine he 
was the van of the whole Union army, even so Seydlitz dis- 
posed of his cavalry force on the 13th (19th) October, 1757. It 
would seem that he spread his hussars over an extensive front, 
vast in proportion to his numbers, with his dragoons — who 
skirmished on foot as well as mounted — in the second line, so 
as to give the idea that he was followed by a large body of 
infantry, deployed in line of battle.f Meanwhile, his supports 
were posted so as to be able to protect his retreat, in case the 
enemy discovered his strategem. The French and their Ger- 

* "Any other general," says Frederic, " except Seydlitz would have applauded him- 
self to have escaped, in such a situation, without loss. Seydlitz would not have been 
satisfied with himself, had he not derived gain. The example proves that the capacity 
and fortitude of the general, are, in war, more decisive than the number of his troops. 
A man of mediocrity, who should perceive himself under such circumstances, discouraged 
by the awful appearance of the foe, would have retired as he approached, with the loss of 
half his men, in a skirmish of the rear guard, which the superior cavalry of the enemy 
would have been in haste to engage. The artful use made of the regiment of dragoons, 
extended and shown to the enemy at a distance, was highly glorious to General Seydlitz 
in BO difficult a situation." 

t Compare pages 44-48— General Seydlitz, a Military Biography, by Captain Robert 
Neville Lawley, 2d Life Guards: London, W. Clowes & Sons, 14 Charing Cross, 
For private circulation only, 1853. 



238 BIOGRAPHY" OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

man allies were convinced that no less than the whole Prussian 
army was upon them. They abandoned Gotha pi-ecipitately, 
leaving behind them, prisoners, booty, and the very dinner of 
their Commander-in-Chief. 

The exalted opinion of Frederic himself, in regard to this 
achievement, is fully borne out by Napoleon in his " observa- 
tions " on this campaign. " Soubise at once transferred his 
head-quarters to Gotha, and occupied the town with eight thou- 
sand grenadiers and a division of cavalry. Pie had scarcely 
installed himself therein, when Seydlitz disposing his fifteen 
squadrons in a single rank (or line), marched boldly upon the 
head-quarters, which hastened to save itself as quickly as 
possible, in the direction of Eisenach. The eight thousand 
grenadiers retreated, after firing a few shots ; the head-quarters 
baggage, and prisoners fell into the hands of the Prussians. 
This shameful event was the prelude to Rosbach." Even as this 
dash of Seydlitz into Gotha, was the prologue to Rosbach, even 
so Kearny's stoop on Manassas, might and should have been 
the pi'elude to a grand victory and a decisive campaign, had 
McClellan permitted him to follow it up. As he said on another 
occasion, " If you once whip, you must always whij). It becomes 
a way of doing the thing." In the same manner that Seydlitz 
swept down like an eagle with wide extended wings, upon 
Gotha, even so Kearny made his bold, skillful, and energetic 
movement on Manassas, and gobbled tents, small arms, stores, 
j^risoners, booty, and trophies ; among these seven flags, one of 
white silk, belonging to a South Carolinian corps, and, accord- 
ing to a private account, another, the flag of a Georgia regiment. 

A cotemporaneous letter states, that Kearny's brigade was 
eleven miles in advance of any other troops. 

According to a Major-General, who followed in the track of 
Kearny, and wrote on the 11th March, from Fairfax Court 
House — 

"The enemy has abandoned his works at Centreville and Manassas, and 
fled, leaving tents and barracks standing, many tools, spades, etc., and oon- 
Biderable provisions. "Whiskey in all the tents and barracks, pretty much." 

This energetic and successful movement of Kearnt invites 
and will reward reflection. Reader soldier or civilian, is it 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



239 



probable that a general like Joe Johnston would have aban- 
doned coniinissary's stores, war materials, some of which were 
articles difficult to replace, and left behind him flags, and even 
his unburied dead* in the hospitals, unless the evacuation of his 
works had been hurried by a sharp aggressive ? That general 
who conducted his retreat, during the Atlanta campaign, so as 
to rival that of the Allies after Lutzen and Bautzen, in 1813, 
and left not a linchpin behind for Sherman, was not the man to 
yield any booty or trophies except under compiilsion.f 

In the first place, it is useless for the rebels to deny what fol- 
lows, because it is the sworn evidence of unbiassed witnesses, 
and what McClellan himself admits, must be conceded by his 
friends. " I should judge," swears I. S. Potter, " as far as I am 
able to do so, that the troops had left there in great haste. 
Several hundred barrels of flour, that they had attemj^ted to 
destroy by burning, lay there in a pile partly consumed. There 
was also a part of a train of cars there, partially destroyed. 
Among other things, I found a very complete printing office, 
with press, types, forms standing, an imposing stone, army 
blanks, etc., and I should think a little newspajser had been 
printed there. They left tents standing, both at Manassas and 
Centreville." 

Bayard Taylor testifies that the last of the rebels left Cen- 
treville on Sunday morning, and there were a few left at Manas- 
sas Junction on Monday as late as 2 p. m. 

John T. Hill, a resident at Centreville, swore that General 
Johnston returned to that place on Saturday evening, staid all 
night, and left on Sunday morning, 9th March, by the way of 
Stone Bridge, which was then blown up. He had with hira 
2,000 Infantry and 2,000 Cavalry. They moved off" in a hurry, 

* See Report Col. Simpson, Zd N. J. F., oMached. 

t To the reader who may not be familiar with the operations in 1813, it if> due to state 
that the Allies withdrew so defiantly that Napoleon could gain no advantage over them. 
In an ebullition of indignation, or ill temper, he sacrificed some of his best troops in a 
reckless charge upon their rear-gtiard, near Reichenbach, and exposed himself and 
stafi" so recklessly that his favorite, Duroc, and General Kirgener were killed by a 
cannon ball, following on just behind him. The noble conduct of the Prussians and Rus- 
sians drew forth, then, the bitter exclamation, " What ! after such a butchery, no result? 
No prisoners ? Those fellows will not leave us a nail ; they rise from their ashes. 
When will this be done ?" 



240 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and if our troops had been quicker, and had continued their 
march, they would have caught this rebel rear-guard. Manas- 
sas was not burnt till Monday, 10th of March. 

McClellan (11th March) corroborates all this : " Their move- 
ment from hei'e (Fairfax Court-House) was very sudden. They 
left many wagons, some caissons, clothing, ammunition, personal 
baggage, etc. Their winter-quarters were admirably constructed, 
many not yet quite finished." 

What a pretty little fight swift-footed Kearny might have 
had with deliberate Johnston had the former been allowed to 
move just one day sooner. Both had about the same numbers, 
and the superiority j^ossessed by Kearny in artillery and infan- 
try, would just have made up for the advantage of position 
enjoyed by Johnston. Had ^iCltictt.S'al (Fate) so decreed, it 
might have furnished the handsomest episode of the war, and 
if Kearny had won would have been the entering wedge to 
great results. If, as usual, on the one hand, the rebels had rein- 
forced their reai'-guard, Kearny would likewise soon speedily 
have been reinforced, for there were plenty of troops — good 
men and true — within supporting distance, burning for a fight. 
Here, as so often, Time was against us. Had it favored, the 
decisive battle might have been fought in 1862, just where we 
suffered such a physical reverse in 1861. 

McClellan's own language demonstrates the correctness of 
Kearny's views, as expressed in his letter — that the true plan 
was to mask Manassas with a sufficient portion of our grand 
army, and then pivoting on Alexandria sweep round to the left 
and gobble or destroy all the dispersed divisions of the rebel 
army* occupied in maintaining the blockade of the Potomac, 
and cantoned all along the right bank of that river and occu- 
pying Fredericksburg. Thus, one by one, as events developed 
themselves, they equally and simultaneously proved not only 
the correctness of Kearny's views and predictions, but showed 



* " He, General Kirbt Smith, told me that McClellan might prohably hare dei^troycd 
the Southern army with the greatest ease during the first winter, and without running 
much risk to himself, as the Southerners were so much over-elated by their easy triumph 
at Manassas, and their army had dwindled away."— 7%?re Months i?i the Southern States, 
April— June, 1863, by Lieut.-Col. Fkeemantle, Coldstream Guards. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 241 

that he was a great strategist, in wliose mind the map of the 
theatre of war was displayed. He was not only capable of 
estimating the intrinsic value of positions, but their relative 
bearing to each other. Then, when the fighting actually com- 
menced, his perfect comprehension of tactics, and their practical 
application was equally shown, even as his plan (detailed in a 
letter — destroyed among others, by a relative since dead) for 
the capture of the rebel force on Munson's Hill was supercili- 
ously whistled down the wind, to his great chagrin. Even so 
wore his plans for the capture of Manassas, and the rebel force 
in that position, regarded as the vain imaginings of a military 
dreamer, if they were even listened to with consideration. Had 
Keaeny been allowed to advance on the Vth March, according 
to Napoleon's method of formulating chances, the odds were 
ten to one in favor of his trapping Joe Johnston ; a capture in 
itself equivalent to a victory. 

As it was, even with his celerity and boldness, he reaped no 
benefit before the public, and his report, whose publication 
would have been a partial act of justice, was not only suppressed 
but must have been kept back, or subsequently destroyed, since 
no copy is reported as to be found in the archives of the war 
office, nor in any publication by authority examined, although 
the reports of his subordinates are on file at Washington and 
were kindly furnished to assist in the preparation of this work. 

To say that Kearny bore these slights and wrongs with 
philosophical equinamity would be doing injustice to the high 
spirit of the man, and, considering all the reports which were 
spread abroad prior to his appointment, the only wonder is, 
that instead of writing as bitterly as he did, he did not write 
more so and more.* 

* Persons who blame Kearnt for the freedom with which he wrote home, should 
recollect that only those who fear scrutiny and criticism object to letter-writing. Wel- 
lington experienced the difficulty in a greater degree, but how did the " Iron Duke " 
meet it? Read No. 510, " Selections from the Dispatches and General Orders of Field 
Marshal the Duke of Wellington," page 453 : 

LouzAN, iQih March, 1811. 

To the Earl of Liverpool : 

^ # l>: * * Hf it ^c Hf i|c «4ci|i 

" I am sure your Lordship does not expect that I or any other officer in command of 
a British armj', can pretend to prevent the correspondence of the officers with their 
31 



242 BioGRAPny of major-general philip keapvNT. 

The great error that Kearny committed was in not confining 
his criticisms to those by whom they were deserved, but in going 
out of his direct course to reflect upon those who felt kindness 
and admiration for him. Still, as he doubtless never intended 
that these letters — " epistolary soliloquies " — should come' 
before the public, success would have modified his views ; and 
if he had risen to the high command for which he was destined, 
when death struck him down on the threshold of fortune, he 
was too loftily magnanimous not to haA^e foi'gotten the injuries 
done to the brigade and division commander. Had he lived, 
the very letters, for which he has been so much blamed by many 
would have passed through the fire into thin air like many of 
his bitter speeches, sarcasms, which, although in a measure 
deserved by those at whom they were aimed, were the expres- 
sions of a wounded spirit, rendered extremely irritable by sick- 
ness, suffering, over-work and calculated misappreciation. Thus 
one wrong begets another, and McClellan's injustice to 
Kearny, evinced by the suppression of his report (if Mr. 
Parker is correct as to the fict), in regard to the operations of 
his brigade and their occupation of Manassas, was the source 
of all that was temporarily unloveable and unlovely in a gener- 
ous nature. 

friends. It could not be done if attempted, and the attempt would be con-idercd an 
endeavor by an individual to deprive the British public of intelligence, t)f which the 
Government and Parliament do not choose to deprive them. I have done every thing 
in my power, by way of remonstrance, and have been very handsomely abused for it ; 
but I cannot think of preventing officers from writing to their friends. This intelli- 
gence must certainly have gone from some officer of this army, by whom it was confi- 
dentially communicated to his friends in England; and I have heard that it was 
circulated from one of the officers, with a plan." 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 243 

Camp Keaent, Virginia, March 15, 1802. 
Brigadier-General Keaent: 

Sir — I hasten to lay before you a report of the movements of the squadron (Com- 
panies A and H) of the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry, vi^hile attached to your 
brigade during your advance to Centreville and Manassas. 

Leaving our camp at three p. m., Thursday, the 6th instant, I joined your column on 
the Little River Turnpike, furnishing the advance guard, commanded by myself, and 
the rear guard, in charge of Lieutenant Thomson. On the inarch that day and evening, 
my command was constantly employed in scouting, bearing orders, etc. At four o'clock 
a. m., of Friday I reached Burk's Station, and was assigned my camping ground. 
Shortly after daylight my entire squadron was drafted away in squads of from five to 
twouty men each, to act as vldettes and scouts iu the vicinity of Burk's Station, and to 
operate with the various infantry regiments of your brigade, being subject to the orders 
of their several colonels. On Saturday, Captain Jones, with fifteen men, accompanied 
yourself on an extended visit to all the pickets and sentries of your command. This 
detachment, accompanied by yourself, also made an extended reconuoissancc along the 
line of railroad toward Fairias Station. The remainder of my command, in charge of 
myself. Lieutenants Hidden, Alexander and Phosison, was detached in small parties, 
roconnoitering and acting with the different regiments of your brigade. On Sunday 
morning the usual number of pickets and orderlies was furnished by me, and duly 
posted. At ten o'clock. Lieutenant Alexander, with twenty men, was dispatched ou 
scouting service towards the Occoquau ; his report is forwarded herewith. At the 
same time. Captain Jones, myself. Lieutenants Hidden and Thomson reported, with 
twenty men, to yourself. Lieutenants Hidden and Thomson were dispatched to the 
diiTerent picket stations to obtain more mounted men, and shortly after reported to 
you at Fairfax Station with an additional force of thirty men. At this point Lieutenant 
Alexander also reported from his scouting expedition, thus increasing my command 
to seventy men. While awaiting the arrival of the infantry, my young oflicers were 
dispatched with men in every direction to look for the enemy, who was known to be near 
us. When the infantry came up, myself. Captain Jones and Lieutenant Thomson were 
sent with twenty-flve men to scour the woods around Payne's Church, as far as the 
Old Braddock road. Lieutenants Hidden and Alexander accompanied you to Sangs- 
ter's Station, as detailed in Lieutenant Aibxander's report. From Payne's Church I 
dispatched Lieuteuant Thompson to you with a report of my movements. I subse- 
quently received orders from you to advance to Fairfax Court House, iu company with 
a detachment of Infantry, and soon arrived at that place, approaching it cautiously, to 
find that it had been evacuated by the enemy but a short time before. Shortly after- 
wards I returned to Fairfax station, arriving there at dark, and received orders to 
occupy Payne's Church for the night. I was here joined by Lieutenants Alexander 
and Thompson, and their detachments. I here learned of the glorious death of Lieut- 
enant Hidden, of my company. He was a splendid officer and a courteous gentleman, 
whose loss is deeply felt by all who knew him, but by none more than myself. 

On Monday morning I was forced to return to Burk's Station with my entire command 
for the purpose of obtaining forage for my jaded horses. In the afternoon I was dis- 
patched to Headquarters with orders. Lieutenant Alexander with fifteen men was 
ordered to accompany yau to Centreville, M'hich he did, entering that strongly fortified 
place with you in advance of any other Union troops. Subsequently Captain Jones 
received orders to follow you with the remainder of the squadron and did so without 
loss of time. . An extended reconnoissance was then made towards Bull Run by Lieu- 
tenant Alexander, who learned that the rebel forces were but a few hours in advance. 
That night the squadron returned to Payne's Church to await further orders. On 
Tuesday morning I received orders from you to take a position beyond Sangster's 
Station for the purpose of holding the railroad to that point. At four p. m., I returned 
to Payne'8 Church, and before my men could dismount, was ordered to march to Manas- 



244 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Bag and occupy that point, relieving the Third New Jersey Regiment. After a tedious 
march of five hours, without forage for the tired and hungry horses, I arrived at Manas- 
sas at nine p. m., to find myself with one hundred men far in advance of ihe army, 
occupying the rebel stronghold, while on every side was found evidence showing that 
the enemy had taken a hasty departure but a few hours previously. Our camp was 
alarmed once during the night by the approach of several horsemen, who fled at the fire 
of the sentry. We were surprised shortly after daylight on Wednesday bj' the arrival 
within our lines of several contrabands, and when we left at four p. m., to return, 
thirty negroes had sought our protection — some of them having walked twenty-five 
miles the previous night. On Wednesday afternoon I reported to you at Fairfax Court 
House, and was again quartered at Payne's Church. On Thursday you kindly per- 
mitted my command to rest, a relaxation from duty being absolutely required by the 
horses in the squadron. 

On Friday I was ordered to report with my squadron to my regiment at Fairfax Court 
House, and was thus relieved from duty with your brigade. 

In concluding this report I bog to return you my sincere thanks for the kindness and 
attention which my command universally received at your hands, and beg to assure you 
that it is a matter of deep regret with both oflicers and men of the squadron that they 
were not permitted to serve longer under your immediate command. In conclusion, I 
take this opportunity to return my thanks to the oflicers and men of the squadron for 
the energy and alacrity displayed in performing the arduous duties required of them. 

I also forward herewith, at your request, the names of the men who so nobly sus- 
tained Lieutenant Hidden In his brilliant charge at Sangster's Station on the 9th 
instant: 

Corporal E. LEWIS, 

Company H, since promoted to be Sergeant. 

Private CHARLES P. lYES, 

Company IT, since invm-oted to be Corporal. 

Private ROBERT C. CLARK, 
Company H, since promoted to be Corporal. 

Private ALBERT H. VAN SAUN, 
Company A, since promoted to be Corporal. 
Private MICHAEL O'NEAL, Company H. 
JAMES LYNCH, " 

♦' CORNELIUS RILEY, " " 

" HUGH McSAULEY, " " 

' HERMANN CAMERON, " " 

" JOHN CAMERON, " " 

MARTIN MURRAY, " " 

JOHN BOGERT, " " 

" WILLIAM SIMONSON, " A. 
" CHESTER C. CLARK, " " 

JOHN NUGENT, " " 

JOHN R. WILSON, 
HENRY HIG6INS, " " 

Private Wilson alone captured three prisoners, compelling them to lay down their 
rma, and accompany him from the field. 

I have the honor to be, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) J. K. STEARNS, 

Captain Commanding Squadron. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 245 

Headquarters, Second Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, | 
Camp Seminary, Va., March 16, 1862. j 

Sir: I proceed to furnish to the Headquarters of the First Brigade, General Frank- 
lin's Division, a detailed account of the movements of this regiment during the past 
week, while upon its march towards Manassas and vicinity. 

Pursuant to Brigade orders (excepting Captain Tay's Company, doing picliet duty at 
the time), repaired to the Brigade parade, on Friday, the "Tth instant, at one o'clocic p. 
M., where General Kkarny's command was formed. The regiment was provided with 
the shelter tent, six days' rations, forty rounds of ball cartridge issued to each man, 
and in the cartridge boxes, together with thirty extra rounds to each man, trans- 
ported by the quartermaster. With the knapsacks packed, and thus provided, the 
regiment, in company with the rest of the brigade, proceeded on its march to Burk's 
Station, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, by way of the Little River turnpike 
and the Old Braddock road, reaching its destination about midnight, after a long and 
tedious march, the road after leaving the turnpike, being considerably obstructed with 
mud. 

On the march, the flank companies, commanded by Captains Close and Wildkick, 
were detached and placed under the command of Lieut. Colonel Brown of the Third 
Regiment, constituting with similar companies from other regiments, a light battalion 
in advance of the brigade. The remaining seven companies under my command 
encamped at the station that night, and remained there till the morning, Sunday, the 
9th instant, when by order of General Kbarny, we proceeded up the railroad to Fair- 
fax Station, leaving two companies, under Captains Wiebeoke and Stoll, at the rifle- 
pits, constructed by the enemy in rear of the station. From this point a scout of 
twenty men, under Lieutenant Vreeland, accompanied by two mounted dragoons, 
proceeded in the direction of Fairfax Court House, while the balance of Lieutenant 
Vreeland's company, under Lieutenant Blewett. skirted the dense wood adjoining 
the station on the north. Communication was at once opened with Colonel Taylor in 
command of the Third Regiment, in advance at Sangster's Station, and with Colonel 
Simpson, in command of the Fourth Regiment, in the rear. While occupying this 
position, two companies. Captains Bishop and Hopwood, under command of Major 
Ryerson, were sent forward to act as flankers for Colonel Taylor's command. 

About eleven o'clock a. m., I received information that the enemy's pickets had been 
driven back by a detachment of cavalry just in front of Colonel Taylor's Regiment, 
and at the same time was ordered to withdraw the companies acting as flankers, also 
Lieutenant Blewett's command, skirting the adjoining wood, and proceed with my 
battalion to the 'support of Colonel Taylor, which order was promptly executed. 
About two p. M., I was ordered with my command, consisting of five companies, to take 
position in line of battle on a commanding hill just in advance of Colonel Taylor's 
regiment, and hold it until the darkness of the evening would enable me to withdraw 
without being observed. This hill was the picket-station occupied by the enemy, and 
from which our cavalry had just driven them, and was but little more than five miles 
from Manassas Junction. 

About seven p. m., I left this position (the companies retiring behind the hill separ- 
ately), and proceeded back to Fairfax Station, where we encamped in company with 
the Third Regiment, and where we remained until the morning of Tuesday, the 11th 
instant, when, pursuant to orders (the flank companies and the picket company having 
now rejoined us), we took up our line of march to Fairfax Court House, and entered the 
town with band playing. Here we encamped upon the ground selected by Colonel 
Simpson for this regiment, and remained in camp there until Friday, the 14th instant, 
when, in company with the whole brigade, at seven p. m., we stnick our tents and took 
up our line of march, back to this camp, arriving there about midnight. The men 
returned in good health and full of enthusiasm, created by the movements ol this 
brigade during its absence from camp. 



246 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

A single casualty occurred during our absence ; Captain Duppt's company wa3 
detailed by Colonel Taylor, commanding the post at Fairfas Station, on Monday, the 
10th instant, as a guard for the erection of the telegraph from the Station to the Court 
Iloiise. A private of this company, Thomas W. !Spriggs, was accidentally shot through 
the head while removing his musket ft-om the stack, and expired in a few moments. 
Your obedient servant, 
(Signed), J. M. TUCKER, 

Colonel Second Hegimerit JVew Jersey Volunteej-s. 
To Captain J. M. Wilson, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 



Camp Near Fort Worth, | 
Virginia, March l(j, 1862. j 

Sib: In pursuance of order this moment received, I have the honor to report the 
following as an account of the movements of the Third Regiment New Jersey Volun- 
teers, during the march of the last week towards Manassas. 

Left Camp Fort Worth, Friday, March 7, 18G2, about four o'clock p. m., with the First 
Brigade (General Keabxt's) ; that night marched to Burk's, twelve miles, and 
bivouacked. The Sth, Third Regiment marched to camp near railroad, one mile east 
of Fairfax Station, and relieved the picket of the Sixty-fourth New York State Volun- 
teers. Left camp on the 9th, on a recounoissance with twenty cavalry of the First 
New York Regiment, towards Occoquan ; returned to Fairfax Station about noon. 
Soon after, received orders from yourself in pers'ou to take some five companies, or parts 
thereof (balance of our regiment being picketed to guard our left flank and Fairfax), 
and proceed by railroad and march upon Sangster's Station, three miles east of Bull 
Run. About half a mile this side of Sangster's the enemy appeared, in reconnoitering 
parties of cavalry and some iuliiutry, on the right and left of the railroad. They fell 
back as our flankers advanced." The regiment marched steadily until the advance 
' reached Sangster's ; there, in your presence and by j'our orders, they occupied a com- 
laaudiug position, in line of battle, on the crest of a hill to the right of the railroad. I 
had under my orders, of the First New York Cavalry, sixteen men and. one corporal, 
under First Lieutenant Hidden. Just before leaving the railroad, I ordered this oflicer 
to advance in the open fields and reconnoitre, and if the force was not greatly superior 
to his own, he might charge them. He went off at a brisk trot, nor did he check his 
horses until he charged into the midst of their pickets. The enemy being greutly 
superior in numbers, and having the advantage of cover of pines, he lost his life in the 
gallant charge, but drove the enemy into a rapid retreat, leaving arms and many knap- 
sacks and blankets. Thirteen prisoners were taken, with a lieutenant and non-com- 
missioned ofl5cer. They proved to be the First Maryland Regiment. Very soon after, 
the Second Regiment of Kearnt's Brigade came up and joined us ; they occupied the 
ground of the enemy's picketing regiment until night, when a small company was left 
to guard Sangster's Station until next day. That day— 10th instant— by your orders, 
eight companies of the Third Regiment marched upon Union Mills late in the day, and 
bivouacked the same night beyond Sangster's Station. At four a. m., the 11th instant, 
contined the march ; arrived at Bull Run and found the bridge partially burned— it 
took about one hour to repairit. Crossed, and continued a rapid march to Manassas 
Junction. Arrived at half-past nine a. m., previously having deployed into line of battle 
and sent Captain Gibson, with a flank company of skirmishers, into the place. We 
found it deserted, except by a few citizens, with two or three wagons, loading the spoils 
left by the rebels. The flag of the Union was instantly hoisted upon the flag-stafl" of 
one of the enemy's works ; about which time you joined our regiment, upon which, by 
your order, had been conferred the honor and great satisfaction of hoisting the Ameri- 
can ensign upon the notorious hold of the rebels. The regiment, by your orders, 
inarched the same day to Centreville, where they arrived at Bunset. The following 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 2-17 

morninfr, 12th instant, returned to Fairfax Station, and tlie same day to Fairfax Court 

House. Remained at Fairfax Court House until the 14th instant, at six p. m., at which 

time the regiment marched witli the brigade under your orders to our present camp at 

Fort Worth, arriving at lialf-past one A. m., liith instant, having been detained nearly 

one hour in crossing Cameron Run. 

The regiment etood the march remarkably well. 

I have the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, etc., 

(Signed), G. W. TAYLOR, 

Colonel Third New Jersey Volunteers. 
To Brigadier-General P. Keaent, 

CoMinanding First Bi igade, FranUin's Division. 



Headquarters Fourth New Jersey Volunteers, | 
Camp aEiiiNARY, Va., March IG, 1SU2. ) 

Brigadier-General P. Keaent, 

CommMvding First Brigade, Frankliti's Division, Army of the Potomac : 

GenePvAL — I have the honor to make the following report of the movements of the 
Fourth Regiment of New Jersey Volunteers, since the 7th instant. On that day it 
received orders to march with the other regiments of the brigade to Burk's Station, on 
the Alexandria and Orange railroad, fourteen miles from this camp. The regiment left 
at three p. m.. and in consequence of its being the rear guard of the 'whole brigade, 
inchiding the wagons, and the very bad state of the cross-road from Anandale, it did 
not reach its destination till four o'clock the next morning (Sth) ; everything, however, 
having been brought up in good order. The regiment was immediately put in position 
by your orders, as a niovable force, to attack the enemy at any point he might present 
himself; the three other regiments occupying eligible positions on the approaches to 
the station from the south, west and north. In the afternoon, by your direction, I 
accoiujjanied you in a reconnoissance of the country about the place for several miles ; 
the object being to becqme thoroughly acquainted with the roads, so as to be ready to 
meet the enemy at any point ; and in parting with me you gave me my orders for the 
night. 

The next morning, about sunrise, eight contraband slaves came in from Manassas and 
reported to you that the rebels were sending away their guns and other property, and 
were about leaving their fortifications. You thought their representations such as to 
cause a more thorough questioning, and directed me to conduct it. I did so ; putting 
down the result in a letter to you, which you dispatched iminediately to General Frank- 
lin. Directly after this, you ordered the brigade to move forward towards Sangster'8 
Station, seven miles up the railroad, and within three miles of Bull Run. The Third 
New Jersey was directed to take the advance along the railroad ; the Second New 
Jersey, in echelon, at proper distance, to support the Third; the Fourth New Jersey 
similarly disposed to support the Second ; two companies of the First New Jevsey to 
flank the railroad by the Braddock road to the north, and the remaining companies of 
the First to hold Burk's Station. In this way the advance was cautiously made as far 
as Fairfax Station, a distance of four miles. Reaching this place. The brigade, by your 
direction, was again advanced farther forward cautiou.sly ; the different regiments 
occupying the same relative position, but the Third moving more directly on Sangster's 
Station; the Second taking position on the right of the railroad, about a mile beyond 
B'airfax Station, at the lead-colored house on eminence ; the Fourth at the little church 
at Fitirfax, to guard the road leading to Fairfax ; the First regiment remaining as before 
at Burk's Station, and the Braddock corners. At this time the rebel cavalry could be 
very plainly seen with my glass at about one and a-half miles off to the north-west, 
posted behind a fence in front of a wood. Up to this period I had, by your direction, 
accompanied you in the field. Leaving me to go forward to join tho Third in the 



24:8 BIOGRAPHr OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEAKNY. 

advance, you directed me to take command of the Second and Fourth, and £;ive orders 
according to the exigencies as they might occur. Soon after, I heard tlie advance 
engaged with the enemy, and receiving an order from you through Assistant Adjuiant- 
Genoral Wilson to pusli forward the Second to the burnt railroad bridge to sustain the 
Third, the Fourth to take the place of the Second, and the First that of the Fourth — 
the two companies of the First still remaining at the Braddock Corners — I made the 
changes accordingly, and then rode forward to report to you at Sangster's Station. 
Here I fonnd you writing a dispatch to General Fkanklin, informing him of the bril- 
liant charge which had just been made by a small detachment of Captain Steauns' 
company of Lincoln Cavalry, which formed your escort, against a large body of the 
rebels, said to be oue hundred and fifty strong, by which they were totally routed, and 
fourteen made prisoners, among them a Lieutenant Stewart, late from West Point. 
You immediately ordered me to join my regiment, and with it, two companies of the 
First New Jersey under Major Hatfield, which had been posted at the Braddock road, 
midway between Fairfax Station and Fairfax Court House, and a company of the Lin- 
coln Cavalry, under Captain Stearns, to take Fairfax Court House. I promptly 
returned to my command, found it eager for the work, and ordering, at the Braddock 
road, Major Hatfield and command of two companies of the First, and Captain 
Stearns, to join me, I dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Hatch, Fourth New Jersey 
Volunteers, with two companies of the Fourth New Jersey, and Captain Stearns' com- 
pany of cavalry, to make a detour to the left, lo cut otF the enemy in his retreat from 
Fairfax Court House by the Centreville road. The enemy's pickets were seen between 
us and the town, and it was supposed they were backed up by a large force in the 
neighborhood. Waiting till the proper time to mal<e the dispositions come out simul- 
taneously at Fairfax Court House, I took immediate command of the balance of my 
forces, and had the pleasure of seeing Lieutenant-Colonel Hatch just m position to 
cut off the retreat of the enemy while I was ready to press him in front. Skirmishers 
were thrown out to the front and on either flank on an advance, and just before enter- 
ing the town, when the opportunity admitted, the main body was deployed into line of 
battle. Unfortunately for the real test of our troops, we fonnd to our surprise, no 
enemy, the great body having left, as I learned from the inhabitants, some time in 
October, and only the scouts and pickets, who had been seen in the morning, having 
occupied it since. This fact, however, does not at all militate against the spirit and 
determination of my command, which was all that' might be expected from the inheri- 
tors of the military fame of Jerseymen, and who only await a standing foe to show 
their real mettle. 

I would be derelict did I not also report that you joined me before entering the place, 
and with your usual spirit and good judgment, led the troops into the town, which we 
entered at about five p. m. 

By your direction, I immediately wrote a dispatch to General Franklin, reporting 
our occupation of Fairfax Court House, and you theu left me with instructions to hold 
possession of the town with the Fourth New Jersey. This I did till the next morning, 
March 10th, when the Federal troops pouring in (the advance under Colonel Avekill), 
and receiving an order to march to the Braddock Corners to support the advance of the 
First regiment by that road to Centreville, I left the town with my regiment, took 
position at the " Corners," remained there all night, and next morning returned, by 
your direction, to the vicinity of Fairfax Court House, where I selected the camping- 
ground for the brigade. Here we remained till the afternoon of the 14th instant, when 
receiving an order at iive o'clock from General Headquarters to return to this post, the 
whole brigade moved at six, and reached our destination after midnight. 

I think it proper to state, that when at Fairfax Court House, on the 13th instant, with 
Assistant Adjutant-General Purdt, and Assistant Adjutant-General Wilson and other 
officers, and a squadron of dragoons, I visited the battle-ground at Manassas, of 21st 
July last, and at the recent headquarters of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, a 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 249 

buildins- said to belong to a Mr. Weir, I found a large number of official documents, 
among them the original order of General Beauregard, dated July 2(ith, promulgating 
" confidentially " to the commanders of brigades his plan of battle for the next day. 
Accompanying this was the order of General Joseph E. Johnston, approving the plan 
and directing it to be can-ied into execution. I also found the original report of Lieuten- 
ant Alexander, Engineer Corps, General Stall', giving a statement of the prisonera 
and wounded, and of the property found after the battle. The leaving these important 
documents, lilie the other property which I baw scattered around, shows with what 
haste the rebels must have retreated before our forces; but what discovers the perfect 
panic which must have ensued, is the fact, which I witnessed, of their having left four 
dead bodies, laid out in their hospital dead-house ready for interment, but which thej 
had forgotten or neglected to bury. 

Very respectfully submitted, 
(Signed), J. H. SIMPSON, 

Colonel Fourth New Jersey Volunteers. 

Headquarters First New York Cavalry, I 
Camp Kearnt, March 17, 1862. ) 

Captain J. K. Stearns, 

Commanding Company '^ R" Second Squadron: 
Sir— I have the honor to report that in obedience to orders received from Bragadier- 
Gcneral Kearnt, I marched from Burk's Station on the morning of the 9th instant, 
with twenty men. Myorders were to proceed to the Pohick road, and scour the country 
right and left, which I did as far as Brimstone Hill, I then returned to Ely's, where I 
learned from the officer commanding the pickets of the Third New Jersey, that a squad 
of rebel cavalry had just driven in two of his pickets. I immediately started in pur- 
suit, and having followed them about three miles, returned to Fairfax Station, and 
reported the circumstance to the commanding General. I was then ordered by the 
General to accompany him to Sangster's Station, and on arriving there to occupy a road 
leading to the right, going into a large wood ; my orders being to intercept a large body of 
rebel infantry from getting in there. It was about this time that the brilliant charge was 
made by Lieutenant Hidden of our regiment. General Kearnt then rode up and 
informed me that Lieutenant Hidden had fallen, and was perhaps only wounded, and 
ordered me to charge with my party and drive the enemy into the woods, and procure 
the body, if possible ; we did so, Lieutenant Thompson and myself, and recovered tho 
body. I then returned to Fairfax Station and reported to you. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed), WM. ALEXANDER, 

Second Lieutenant and Adjutarit First Battalion. 



Headquarters, First Regiment, First Brigade, Franklin's Division, | 
Camp Seminaet, Va., March 17, 1863. J 

To Captain James M. Wilson, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. First Brigade: ■ . 
Sia — I have the honor to forward the Inclosed reports concerning the First Regiment, 
First Brigade, Franklin's Division, under the immediate command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel McAllister— being myself at the time unable to ride on horseback on account 
of rheumatism, but was in the field during the time making myself as useful as pos 
Bible under the circumstances. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
fSigned), A. T. A. TORBBRT, 

Colonel First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers, 
32 



250 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

First Rebiment New Jersey Voi^unteers. ) 
Camp Seminary, Va., March 17, 1862. ) 

To A. T. A. TORBERT, 

Colonel First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers : 

Sir— In accordance with your request I herewith transmit to yon a report of the 
movements of our regiment after leaving this place for Burk's Station, on Friday, 
March 7th. 

We left our brigade drill-ground and inarched across to the Little river turnpike, on 
this side of Anandale. I was ordered to send forward our two flank companies, leaving 
seven companies (one company being on picket). We reached BurkV Station about one 
o'clock A. M., on the 8th; our regiment was then stationed along the edge of the woods 
near Burk's house. 

After General Howard's brigade left, we were ordered to take a position along the 
woods north of the railroad, which order I executed immediately. I then examined 
all the roads leading to the camp grounds, placed pickets, and rested for the night. On 
the morning of the 9th I received an order to send three companies to Burk's house. 
We started at once. Then came another order to send two companies, under tlie com- 
mand of Major Hatfield, to the old Braddock road. I detailed companies B and E; 
they started without delay, leaving me but two companies. After two o'clock p. m., I 
received an order to bring in the three companies at Burk's house, and march up the 
railroad to support Colonel Simpson at the church near Fairfax Station. On reaching 
that, I did not see Colonel Simpson, but met General Kearny, who ordered me to march 
up to Parr's Cross-roads, leaving one company — company K^at Paine's Church ; with 
the remaining four companies I arrived at Parr's cross-roads about five o'clock p. m. (Oth;, 
and formed line of battle, and remained in that position until our General arrived from 
Fairfax Court House, when he told me to encamp there for the night ; to be on the 
alert; that it was an important point; that the enemy were in the neighborhood; and 
if attacked, hold it until reinforcements came to my aid. I put out pickets up the 
Centreville road one and a half miles ; also down the Fairfax road towards Paine's 
Clmrch, and also, towards Fairfax. We were vigilant that night, but were unmolested. 
About eight o'clock next morning (10th) received a verbal order from General Kearnt, 
by his aid-de-camp. Lieutenant Barnard, to throw forward scouts in rear of Centreville, 
and am happy to say, I soon found a corporal and three men ready and willing to under- 
take this apparently dangerous enterprise. In about an hour afterward I received an 
order to send forward towards Centreville one company. I immediately ordered com- 
pany B, Captain Van Sickell, to push forward ; and, in accordance with our General's 
instructions, had a communication kept up with me, and through me, with General 
Kearny, by Captain Van Sickell, sending back a man every three-quarters of a mile 
that he advanced. Between twelve and one o'clock the General ordered me to advance 
with our regiment to Centreville, which I did— Captain Van Sickell and Lieutenant 
Tantum, with company B, having reached that place before we did, and some hours 
ahead of any other troops. 

Permit me to say here, that our regiment was the last to leave Centreville, at the Bull 
Run retreat, and a part of it the first to enter it on the retreat of the enemy. We staid 
all night, and the next morning were ordered to return to Fairfax Court House. 

In conclusion permit me to say, that General Kearny deserves a great deal of credit 
by this bold push towards the enemy's lines ; aud by the energy and bravery thus dis- 
played, caused the enemy to leave in great haste, leaving many valuables behind them. 
Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed), R. McALLISTER, 

Lieutenant- Colonel First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers. 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 251 

First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers, I 
Camp Seminary, Va., March 17, 1802. f . 



To A. T. A. TORBERT, 

Colonel First Reghnent New Jersey Volunteers: 

Sir — Ou Sunday morning, March 'Jth, I was ordered by General Kearny to take two 
companies and proceed to Farr's Cross-roads, by the Old Braddock road, and there wait 
for reinforcements from Fairtiix Station. I arrived at the Cross-roads about noon. My 
command consisted of companies B and E. At the Cross-roads we discerned the enemy's 
cavalry ou a hill near the Court House; but, having positive orders to remain at the 
Cross-roads, I did not feel at liberty to pursue them. However, I sent out a small 
detachment, under command of Lieutenant Tantum, in order to get as near the enemy 
as possible, under cover of the pines, so as to watch their movements. By so doing we 
found that the enemy was moving back and forth from the Court House to the old Brad- 
dock road, a distance of about one mile. 

At four o'clock the Fourth New Jersey, under Colonel Simpson, came up, when we 
inarched to the Court House— the two companies under my command were deployed aa 
skirmishers. When near the Court House, by order of General Kearny, we marched 
on at double-quick, and I may also add that the enemy did the same, only in an opposite 
direction. I then received orders from General Kearny to march back to the Cross- 
roads and join my regiment, and there bivouacked for the night. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed), DAVID HATFIELD, 

Major First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers. 



First Regiment New Jersey Volitoteees, J 
Camp Seminary, Va., March 17, 18Ua. ) 

To A. T. A. Torbekt, 

Colonel First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers: 

Sir — I h.ave the honor to report that I was ordered by Lieutenant-Colonel McAllis- 
ter, on Monday m6rning, 10th instant, at half-past eight a. m., while stationed at Farr's 
Cross-roads, to take my command and proceed cautiously up the Braddock road towards 
Ceutreville, and after passing our pickets, to send out an advance guard ; which I did, 
sending Lieutenant William H. Tantum on with fourteen men. I was also furnished 
with four cavalrymen, to act as a patrol, and to report to him at intervals, as we pro- 
ceeded. I received the first communication from Lieutenant Tantum when at Cedar Run, 
which I forwarded to Lieutenant-Colonel McAllister, saying that he had possession 
of five contrabands, and had caught up with the four scouts sent in advance. Lieuten- 
ant Tantum halted with his guard until I brought up my reserve; he then advanced 
about a mile, when I received word that appearances were favorable, to come on with 
all possible dispatch, as he would be in Centreville in an hour. The message I imme- 
diately sent to Lieutenant-Colonel McAllister, and proceeded on. Lieutenant Tantch 
arrived at Centreville about half-past eleven a. m., where he immediately posted four 
sentries in difl'erent places in the village— one at each of three forts. 

I arrived there at fifteen minutes after twelve o'clock, noon, and took possession of 
General Johnston's headquarters, and there awaited the arrival of the First Regiment, 
which came in about four o'clock p. jr. 

The New York Forty-fourth Regiment arrived at about half-past three o'clock p. M, 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed), S. VAN SICKELL, 

Captain Company B, First Regiment Neiv Jersey Volunteers. 



CHAPTER XX. 

IRRITANTS AND ASSUASIVES. 
Poison and Antidote. 

" My death and life, 
My bane and antidote, are both before me." 

Addison's " Cato." 

The neglect of McClellan to take advantage of this suc- 
cess (detailed in the preceding chapter) by immediately follow- 
ing up the retiring and, to all appearance, surprised enemy 
completely satisfied General Kearny of his (McClellan's) 
incompetency. From thenceforward his opinion of him was 
fixed. 

" The stupid fact is (he writes March 11th, 1862), that, not content with let- 
ting me and others push on after the panic-stricken enemy, fighting him a big 
battle, and ending the war — for his panic promised us sure success — 
McClellan, so powerful with figures, but so weak with men, has brought us 
all back. It is so like our good old nursery story — 

' The King of France, with twice ten thousand men, 
Marched up the hill, and then marched down again.' 

The result will be, that, in Southern character, they will more than recuperate, 
more than think us afraid of a real stand-up fight, meet us at the prepared 
points, possibly play ugly tricks at the capital, and nonplus or force us to fight 
with the worst of chances against us; and all this, because when McClellan, 
out of confidence since his failure at Ball's Bluff, despairing of a direct attack 
on Manassas, invented, with the aid of engineers (men who are ignorant of 
soldiers), the plan of turning the enemy by a sea-route, instead of availing 
himself of the good luck of the enemy's retreat, thinks that he must still 
adhere to his sea-plan, like the over-stufied glutton who thinks he must cram 
because he has in hand an ' embarras des ricJiesses.^ " 

Mai'ch 31st he writes, sketching a campaign* for the enemy, 
which was not attempted till Pope's time : 

♦ " The war of 1806 broke out ; and the Prussians, proud of their former £ame, took the 
field against Napoleon. Massenbach, then a colonel, was Quartermaster-General 
to Prince Hohenlohe's army, and, as the storm-clouds of battle drew on towards 
each other, foretold, with wonderful clearness, accuracy and precision, the ruin which 
the measures in progress were certain to bring upon the army and the country ! Looking- 
back to these terrible times, trying the avowed and registered predictions delivered 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 253 

'• Our present affair is a terrific blunder. Instead of following iip, overtak- 
ing and whipping the enemy as they retired panic-st icken, he is attempting 
an affair of rivers. I do not know his full means of action ; but I do know" 
that, if opposed with enterprise, the Southern army, recuperated under the 
plea of our evading a real fight, will seize Centreville and Manassas, just in 
rear of forces left on the Rappahannock, cut them off, restore the uninjured 
railroad, steam via Harper's Ferry to Baltimore and Washington, and be back 
in time to meet us before Richmond ;* because the batteries on the York and 
James rivers, if as formidable as tlie captured resources of Norfolk should 
have made them in guns, will oblige us (if we have no iron-armored gunboats) 
to land our heavy pieces and take them piecemeal (besides expending thus gratu- 
itously much bloodf), all which takes time. I can only account for this absurd 
movement from General McClellan and his advisers not having sufficient 
simplicity of character. It would have been so beautiful to have pushed 
after the enemy, and, in doing so, isolate Fredericksburg, carry it easily, 
occupy that road, and thus turn those river batteries, all the while near enough 
to Washington in case of any attempt on it. They will tell you that it was a 
want of subsistence, etc. This only proves how unpractical McClellan and 
his advisers are. And it is precisely from a mismanagement of these simple 
details in our own camps on the Potomac that I have the more and more 
learned to distrust him entirely. However, Johnston is a very slow man, and 
our resources are enormous, so we must win, and McClellan will, no doubt, 
pass down in history as a great general. What annoys me the most is, that 
he has stupidly blundered in carrying out his own plans. We should, at 
least, have kept, the enemy impressed with the idea of our direct advance, and 
withdrawn division after division in the steaithiness of night, and under the 
curtain of strong corps." 

This was an early day foi- such criticism. They meant what 
Grant afterwards painfully executed. Some 200,000 men lay 
'round Washington then. The rebel force was barely 40,000. 

day after day by Massenbach, in the Prussian council of war, by the subsequent events, 
we are, in profane languages, bound to confess that no man ever spoke before in a more 
perfect spirit of prophecy. All that he foretold came to pass to the letter." In the 
same way Von Bulow.— Geu. Mitchell's "Biographies of Eminent Soldiers," 319. 

* " Massena," he (Souvakofp) says, in a memorandum on the subject, " has no object 
in waiting for us when he can beat us in detail. He will first throw himself upon 
Korsakoff, who is nearest to him, and then upon Conde, and that will probably be 
enough for him." How just was the prophecy.— Gen. Mitchell's " Biographies of 
Eminent Soldiers," 157. 

+ " The celebrated Souvaeoff was accused of cruelty, because he always at once 
stormed fortresses instead of investing them and starving out the inhabitants and the 
garrisons. The old hero showed, by arithmetical calculations, that his bloodiest assaults 
never occasioned so much loss of human life as did, on both sides, any long seige, dig- 
ging and approaches, and the starving out of those shut up in a fortress. This for 
McClellan."— GuRowSKi's Diary, Vol. I, page 164; February, 1863. 



25i BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

The direct advance would have been necessarily overwhelming ; 
no mana3uvers could have resisted it. Looking back, and with 
the knowledge we now possess, we know that, undertaken then, 
the direct advance must have been sj^eedily successful, econo- 
mizing rivers of blood and thousands of lives. Says Pollard 
in his Ziost Cause, page 262 : 

"On March 1st, 1862, the number of Federal troops in and about "Washiog- 
tou had increased to 193,142 tit for dufy, with a grand aggregate of 221,987. ' 
Let us see what was in froat of it on the Confederate liae of defense. Gene- 
ral Johnston had in the canaps of Centreville and Manassas less than 30,000 
men ; Stonewall Jackson had been detached with eleven skeleton regiments 
to amuse the enemy in the Shenandoah Valley. Such was the force that 
stood in McClellan's path, and deterred him from a blow that, at that time, 
might have been fatal to the Southern Confederacy." 

We have said that McClellan seemed but ill satisfied with 
the sudden and skillful movement of Keakny lapon Manassas. 
Perhaps it was in consequence of this ; but, whatever the rea- 
son, in a few days after he tendered him a command (to which, 
as numbered fourteen on the list of brigadiers, he was long enti- 
tled) of a division, vacated by the promotion of General Sum- 
nek to a corps. General Kearny was more than glad to acce2)t, 
only desiring that, inasmuch as his First Jersey Brigade had 
been perfected by such toil, expense and zeal, he should be at 
liberty to carry it with him, exchanging it for one of Sumner's, 
which lay close by Franklin, and the consent of whose briga- 
dier was obtained. General McClellan did not discourage 
the project, but General Franklin at once rejected it, upon 
which General Kearny, feeling his Jersey Blues to be a trust 
especially confided to him, and realizing their adoration of him, 
most generously declined the proposition, and, ranking many 
division generals, remained with his brigade. This conduct 
was rewarded, as might readily be expected. As soon as it 
was known, in spite of orders to avoid all demonstrations, the 
enthusiasm of his brave boys could not be restrained. His 
appearance was the signal for irrepressible cheering. His 
men would have followed him, or gone at his bidding any- 
where, against any odds ; " nor did a Jersey soldier ever for- 
get it." 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 255 

Another writer thus expresses the same idea, but in such ele- 
gant language that it will bear insertion, even at the risk of 
repetition : 

'•Just about the time the overland advance was thus abandoned for 'an 
afl'air of rivers,' General Kearny was offered the command of a division. He 
was more tliau alad to accept the honor, on one condition : that the ' Jersey 
Blues' should be embraced in his command. McClellan was not unwilling, 
but Frankun rejected the proposition, and Kearny determined to remain 
brigadier and command his own brave boys. The effect of this decision 
on his brigade can be imagined. It gave him boundless control over thtir 
sympathies and their conduct. He could not ride down the line on parade 
without arouains: cheers from every company. They would have followed him 
(as his Dragoons did follow him up to the gate of Mexico, and as his men did 
always everywhere until he fell at their head) into the charge at Balaklava, 

' Into the jaws of cleatli, 
Into the mouth of hell,' 
Though 

' Cannon to right of them. 
Cannon to left of ihem, 
Cannon behind them 
Volleyed and thundered.' " 

With all this, the step caused General Kearny much regret. 
His subordination to men of much less military experience 
than his own perpetually annoyed him. ,He had strong 
reliance upon his own powers, a reliance which was by no 
means conceited, and which was afterward strongly justified. 
Feeling himself equal to almost any task, he could not help 
longing to take the place of some one of those whom, in his 
confidential correspondence, he styled his " inferior superiors." 

It was some alleviation to his disappointment, and the state 
of harassed feeling which his inferior position occasioned, to 
fiind himself valued as he was by New Jersey and its Legis- 
lature. How much its patriotic Executive regarded him he 
was not then aware, and his correspondence betrayed an unjust 
opinion upon that subject. 

But the Press, the People and the Legislature of New Jer- 
sey, all exhibited their admiration and attachment for him in 
such a manner as could not be otherwise than gratifying. 

On the 20th of March, 1862, the Legislature passed a reso- 
lution", declaring — 



256 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" That Nbw Jersey highly appreciates the disinterested fidelity of General 
Philip Kearny, in declining proffered promotion rather than separate himself 
from the command of Jerseymen intriisted to him." 

On the 28tli of the same month, a set of resolutions was 
passed, in the following terms : 

" Resolved, That to the New Jersey Yolunteers belongs the praise not 
only of checking the retreat of the ' Federal Forces retiring from Bull Run, and 
greatly aiding in the preservation of the National Capital from capture, hut also 
of advancing, unsiqjported, on the Rebel stronghold at Manassas, and compelling 
its precipitate abandonment; and that General Kearny deserves the warm approval 
and thanlis of the Nation for his boldness in making this advance, and this skillful 
strategy he displayed in its execution. 

•' Resolved, Thut having already testified our high appreciation of the self- 
sacrifice and fidelity to his trust, which led Geiieral Kearny to decline promotion 
rather than leave his Brigade, we now express our regret at the existence of any 
such necessity, and respectfully suggest to those in autJiority the propriety {unless it 
be inconsistent with the public interest) of combining all the New Jersey Troops 
on the Potomac into one Division, and placing the same under the command of 
General Kearny, whose devotion to his soldiers, care for their comfort and disci- 
pline, and brilliant qualities as an officer, entitle the country to his services in a 
higher position than the one he notu occupies. 

" Resolved, That a Copy of these Resolutions be forwarded to the Honorable 
THE Secretary of "War." 

The idea contained in the second of these resolutions was a 
favorite one with General Kearny, who believed our troops 
would fight better if brigaded by States; but the fear that State 
pride might occasion dissension made the plan unpalatable at 
Washington.* 

* This chapter is quoted entire (with the exception of the notes and of one paragraph 
from the pen of Joseph B. Ltman, Esq.), from the Address of Cortlandt Parker, 
Esq., entitled: "Philip Kkarnt, thk Soldier and Patriot." Newark, New Jersey, 
March, 1868. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

FROM ALEXANDRIA, THROUGH YORKTOWN, TO WILLIAMSBURG. 

" My ships are ready, and 
My people did expect my hence departure 
Two days ago." Winter's Talk. 

" When, in 1707, the Duke of Savot desired * * to conceal his retreat, he com- 
menced to ' withdraw' his heavy artillery. * * Then he ordered that some light field 
pieces should be left iu the lines, which should keep up a fire * * to amuse the* 
enemy and prevent them from suspecting his retreat. * * All things being thus dis- 
posed, he decamped secretly in the night." — Ruses de Guerre. 

" Are you content to be our general ? " 

Two Gentlemen op Vehona. 

The " Affair of Rivers " was decided on in March. It was 
not until April that it was carried into execution. So much 
has been said and written by war-correspondents, pamphleteers', 
military critics, sensational and historical penmen, that it is 
needless to discuss or enter into details, except as to Kearny. 

This expedition, conceived in weakness, was a cripple from its 
birth. Misbegotten, its lot was misfortune and its end humilia- 
tion. Nevertheless, from its commencement to its termination, 
it was a glorious climacteric in the life of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, and in the career of the majority of the subordinate com- 
manders. 

On the 17th April, Kearny embarked on board of the splen- 
did steamer " Elm City," and on the 23d April found himself 
in the estuary of the Pocosin, or Poquoein river, which opens 
into the Chesapeake, just below the mouth of the York river.* 



* " When I first went to General Kearny he was near Alexandria, expecting every 
hour and minute to receive an order to go down the river ; at last came an order to go 
forward the other way, viz., by the Alexandria and Orange railroad, and that way to 
reach Richmond. We got as far as Catlett's — there waited three or four days, expect- 
ing orders to go forward — at last orders came to return to Alexandria, and there take 
shipping for Yorktown. We returned, expecting to embark the same day — but had to 
wait a week. We sailed, expecting to land under fire the day we reached the York 
river. Well, after some delay, we reached the York river, passed it, and anchored in 
Pocosin, or Poquosin Bay, where we are still, and probably will be laying for another 
week, and then we may go to Fortress Monroe or somewhere else." — Pnvate Letter 
from one of Kearnt's Staff, Pocosin Bay, 'ibth April, 1863. 
33 



258 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Here he was " kept waiting to land, and fretting himself over 
the want of practical skill which, as he said, sickened his sol- 
diers by cooping them on the transports, because they dared 
not hazard a landing under fire." 

It was not until 30th April that he was permitted to disembark. 

While " cribbed, cabined and confined " on ship-board, a 
vacancy occurred in the command of the 3d Division (formerly 
C. S. Hamilton's) of the 3d Army Corps, Heintzelman's. 
Kearny now deemed it due to himself, his friends, the army 
and the country, to accept this step. Amid grief, ill-concealed 
and heartfelt on his own part, and amid the tears and lamenta- 
tions of the troops he had made his pride and his worshippers,* 
he was relieved of his old and assumed his new position 2d 
May, 1862, at the head of the 3d Division, whose title was 
changed to that of 1st Division on the 3d August following. 
Its position was alongside of that commanded by Hooker. 
Both of these were encamped in close vicinity to the ground, 
one and a half miles S. S. E. of Yorktown, where the tents of 
Generals Lincoln and La Fayette were pitched and the park 
of American Artillery was established during the memorable 
seige of Yorktown in 1781, which affixed the seal to the liberties 
of our country. Keyes' Corps lay in advance of the headquar- 
ters of Washington and Rochambeau ; these latter in rear of 
the park of French Artillery, about two miles south by east 
of the beleaguered town.f 

* " In battle, the voice of the man whom the soldier loves nerves his heart, and, 
rather than forfeit his esteem by flight, he will remain at his post and die. * * * * 
And this was the secret of Kearny's popularity in his division ; and among the thou- 
sand camp traditions of that singular and gifted man, there is not one of needless 
insult or cruelty to soldiers in the ranks. For them he had always the looks and lan- 
guage of cheer ; while for his ofiicers he had often such words of biting, bitter scorn as 
only General Kearny could utter — falling on them like angry flashes of lightning 
from a storm-cloud. And in all the army I know of no such devotion to a general as 
was exhibited by the men of Kearny's Division."— "TAe Peninsular Campaign in 
Virginia, etc.,'" p. 42, by Rev. J. J. Marks. 

t "Yorktown was of especial interest to us, because in that place and its immediate 
neio-hborhood are found many monuments of the most interesting event in our Revohi- 
tionary history. The divisions under Generals Kearny and Hooker encamped on the 
grounds where had been spread the tents of General Washington and General La Fay- 
ette. We daily looked out upon the plain where had been witnessed the combats 
and struggles which compelled the final surrender of Yorktown to our forces. The old 
lines of entrenchments and mounds of redoiibts look like a chain across the field." — 
" The Peninsular Campaign in Virginia, etc,,''' p. 140, by Rev. J. J. Marks. 



BIOGEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 259 

Here " Fighting Joe " and " Fighting Phil,"* who had won 
brevets " for gallant and meritorious conduct " in the Mexican 
war, fighting a foreign enemy to maintain the national honor, 
now again became associated in arms in the great American 
Conflict, to preserve the Nation's life, on the very spot where 
the shouts of triumph first proclaimed to the world the accom- 
plished birth of our Nation. 

The following was the composition of Kearky's Division, a,s 
furnished through the courtesy of Major-General E. D. Town- 
send, Assistant and Acting Adjutant-General U. S. A.,towhoni 
the writer is indebted foi many similar acts of kindness : 

"Brigadier-General P. Kearny was relieved from command of the 'New 
Jersey Brigade ' and assumed command of the 3d Division (formerly Hamil- 
ton's), 3d Army Corps, May 2, 1862. 

"Name of Division changed to 1st Division August 13, 1862. 

" FIRST BRIGADE : 

"Brigadier-General Chas. D. Jameson, commanding until June 13, 1862; 
Brigadier-General J. C. Robinson commanding from June 14, '62, to Septem- 
ber, 1862. 

" Troops — First Brigade — 

" 57th Pennsylvania Vols. Transferred to 2d Brigade August 12, 1862. 

" 63d Pennsylvania Vols. 

" 105th Pennsylvania Vols. 

" 81th New York Vols. Relieved from duty with Division August 23, '62. 

" 20th Indiana Vols. Joined Brigade June 10, 1862. 

" SECOND BRIGADE : 
" Brigadier-General D. B. Birnet, commanding. 

" Troops — 
" 38th New York Vols. 
" 40th New York Vols. 

" 101st New York Vols. Joined Brigade June 9, 1862. 
" 3d Maine Vols. 
" 4th Maine Vols. 

" 99th Pennsylvania Vols. Joined Brigade July 5, 1862. 
" 5Vth Pennsylvania Vols. Joined, from Ist Brigade, August 12, 1862. 

* This same corp3 comprised as part of Hooker's Division the famous Excelsior 
Brigade, commanded by another fighter, Daniei, E. Sickles, known to his " Boys " as 
" Fighting Dan." It is not a little singular, in this connection, that each of this " trio " 
of heroes were for a long time intended for clergymen. 



260 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" THIRD BRIGADE : 

"Brigadier-General Hiram G. Berry commanding, until August 19, 1862; 
Colonel 0. M. Poe, 2d Michigan Vols., commanding from August 20, 1862, to 
September, 1862. 

" Troops — 
" 2d Michigan Vols. 
" 3d Michigan Vols. 
" 5th Michigan Vols. 
" STth New York Vols. 
" 1st New York Vols. Joined Brigade June 3, 1862 

"Artillery op Division: 
" Company G, 2d United States Artillery. Relieved July 18, 1862. 
" Company B, 1st New York Artillery. Relieved June 5, 1862. 
" Company E, Ist Rhode Island Artillery. 
" Company K, 3d United States Artillery. Joined July 18, 1862." 

Yorktown was evacuated on the night of the 3cT of May. 
Eleven thousand men under General Magruder (who adopted 
here the strategein of Kearny when approachmg Manassas, 
and extended his little force over a distance of several miles, so 
as to give it the appearance of large numbers), had delayed 
nearly 90,000 infantry, 50 batteries of artillery, 10,000 cavalry, 
and a seige train of 100 guns, from the 4th day of April pre- 
vious. 

This fact is proof enough of the correctness of Kearny's 
opinion, both as to the injudiciousness of the route and the lack 
of comprehensive generalship in his commander. 

On the night (3d May) Yorktown was evacuated, one of 
Kearnt's new brigadiers, Charles D. Jameson, "General of 
the Trenches," was the first to discover the fact, or, at all events, 
the first to enter the enemy's works, at 6 a. m. on the ensuing 
day. On the 4th, towards midday, Stoneman, with the cavalry 
and some light batteries, got off in pursuit of the rebels ; at 
early noon (10 a. m. ?) Hooker moved. Kearny did not start 
until 9 A. M. on the 5th. Between the Divisions of Hooker 
and Kearny strung out Sumner's corps of about 30,000 men. 

"When Stoneman, Hooker and Sumner marched, on the 4th, 
it was a bright, sunny, or fair May day for Virginia. In Hook- 
er's Division the men threw away all superfluous baggage, in 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR.GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 261 

consequence of the heat, and some actually dropped down from 
the same cause. It was not only hot, but dusty. What a con- 
trast when Kearny's turn to advance came on the morning of 
the 5th. The rain commenced falling, sprinkling, about dark, 
on the 4th, increasing in violence until about 11 p. m., when it 
set in for a regular storm. During the night it was not heavy 
enough to wet through the blanket covering the writer's inform- 
ant, but towards morning (3 a. m.) it increased in violence.* 

After daylight (5th) rain fell in torrents. The roads had become 
soaked with water and were perfectly horrible — ankle deep for 
the men, and, seemingly, bottomless to the artillery. The dif- 
ferent commands and arms, between Yorktown and Williams- 
burg, between Kearny and Hooker, became intermingled. 
The confusion, worse confounded, was hourly aggravated by 
the weather, the mud and the muddled condition of affairs ik 
the rear, in the direction of the movements : Witness Heint- 
zelman's stateiuent, that he had orders from McClellan him- 
self to assume command at the front ; whereas Sumner was 
acting under exactly similar instructions from Maecy, Chief of 
Staff. 

On the afternoon of the 4th, Stoneman ran into, or overtook 
the rebel rear-guard, beyond Whittaker's house, between three 
and four miles this side and in sight of Williamsburg. The 
pursued stood at bay, turned upon and repulsed the pursuers. 

Here there is as much confusion in the accounts of what fol- 
lowed as there was confusion reigning among the dislocated 



* There is a great discrepancy, however, in the accounts of this rain-storm which 
exercised so great an influence on events and cost us precious time, when Time was 
TUE element of success. It might almost bo said this rain saved Richmond. It justi- 
fied the remark attributed to General Dix, that, " the season was even yet too early for 
operations on the peninsula, since a single storm would convert its treacherous soil 
into a quicksand." The drizzle commenced from 11 to 12 P. m. on the 4th, and at 3 A. 
M., .oth, the rain came down in earnest. Twelve hours of steady down-pour was sufli- 
cient to convert the face of the country into a quagmire, in which, according to Captain 
Charles H. Scott, 4th New York Independent Battery, the horses sank to their knees, 
and another informant goes further, averring that the men, even, found the mud knee- 
deep. De Trobriand speaks of artillery horses as " killed, or drowned in their har- 
ness " in the mud on the 5th, and of advancing " to the battle through an ocean of 
niire, amid wearied teams, and in the midst of an inevitable disorder, which left strag- 
glers enough in the rear." How much does this add to the glory of Kearnt, in that 
he carried his men through all this into the field to save a lost battle, an achievement 
almost equal to that accomplished by the resolution of Bltjcheb at Waterloo. 



262 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

cominands. About 5.30 p. m. Sumner, with Smith's Division, 
came up ; but nothing seems to have been done. Darkness 
shut in upon the opposing forces before Hooker got into posi- 
tion. Then the Union forces bivouacked in tlie woods and the 
rain, which had just commenced, and slept in the consequent 
mud. 

It was nearly midnight when the van-guard of the Army of 
the Potomac sank down to rest — if such a suspense could be 
termed rest — under the most trying circumstances for soldiers 
young in active campaigning. It was a terrible initiative for 
the Army of the Potomac, with a battle certain at the breaking 
of the day. Still, they stood it nobly, and proved, as was said ' 
of other troops on other fields, " that it took an awful deal to 
take it out of them." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE BATTLE OP WILLIAMSBURG, MONDAY, 5th MAY, 1S62. 
KEARNY AT WILLIAMSBURG. 

" lie (Lieuterant-General, or General of Division, the CoimT de Lorqe), gave his . 
orders with a coolness which made it easy to see that he is the relation (nephew) of 
the incomparable M. de Tukenne. (Major-General Phil. Kearny was nephew of the 
admirable Brigadier-General, Brevet Major-General, Stepitek Watts Keaknt.) He 
had a horse killed under him (this occurred to P. K. at Fair Oaks). If God had taken 
him from us (at the battle of Williamsburg) everything was lost." Sous-set's Histoire 
de Loi/vois, ii., 164. 

"And now, my son, let me enjoin you that whenever you hear the names of Generals 
Hancock and Kearnt mentioned, respect and revere them, for never was Amencan valor 
more beautifully illustrated than by tliese Generals on the field of Williamsburg!'''' " Siege 
of Washington," Captain Adams. 

" After the battle of St. Quintin (August 10, 1587) Emanuel Philibert had France 
at his discretion. Had his counsels been instantly followed, the Spanish army would 
have dictated its own terms before or within the walls of Paris. But the narrow * 
* * * * mind of Philip II frustrated the victory, and the great opportunity was 
lost. It is well known that when Charles V received the first tidings of the glorious 
battle, in his retirement at Yuste, he made up hie mind that his sou must be in full 
march upon Paris ; and when fallen from his expectation, he sunk into one of his fits 
of deep gloom, and refused to open further dispatches." Gallenga's Uisfoi'y of 
PiednMnt. 

" Seydlitz, with his conquering regiments, lay reorganized behind Zomdorf. 
Undaunted amidst the general alarm, he excited sixty-one squadrons to fresh exertions, 
by shouting — ' J/y children, fQlloic me ! ' ' We follow,' answered his brave * * 
men with one accord. His well known voice was in their ears ; his glorious example 
beamed before them. 

" Dashing through the gaps in the Prussian line, the whole mass * * rushed 
upon the foe. The Russians slightly disordered, as before, by their omti successes, 
could not withstand the onset : * * fled in confusion, and were driven in the 
morass under Quartschen." Capt. Lawlet's Gen. Seydlitz. 

" Williasi (III of England) lost the fruits of his victory at the Boyne by not press- 
ing the Irish on their retreat. Drogheda, a nominal fortress, without ramparts, 
bastions, or outworks, with only seven iron cannon, a garrison of twelve hundred men, 
and a cowardly governor, arrested his career but a single day. Three more days 
elapsed before his entry into Dublin, a distance of twenty-two miles only. He thus 
gave his enemies leisure to retreat and opportunity to reorganize. Even then, it was 
not too late to press and pursue with his whole force. The fortifications of Limerick 
had moldered to decay ; he gave the Irish time to repair and add to them. He divided 
his forces, sending Douglas with ten thousand men to besiege Athlone, while he with 
the remainder marched southward along the coast. Before Athlone, Douglas sustained 
a signal defeat. William himself did no more than take Wexford, which was betrayed, 
and Clonmel, which was uugarrisoned — petty conquests, interposing delay, when expe- 
dition was essential." 0"Conoe's '• Military History of the Irish Nation.'''' 



264: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

"We ncno know that the Sikh power was completely broken by the repeated heavy 
blows of MuDKi, Ferozesuah, Aliwal and Sobeaon; but such was not then the gene- 
ral opinion, and there wag not wanting many, even in high places, to solemnly warn 
the governor-general against crossing the Sutlej ; as some of them said, 'only to be 
driven back with disgrace.' Better men declared that we had not means to lay siege to 
Gobindgurh and Lahore, and that, without such means it would be injudicious to cross. 
While thus pressed on the spot, there had been for some time ae impressive sugges-' 
tions from irresponsible persons elsewhere to advance and hazard all in the Punjab, 
before our train and ammunition had come up. The governor-gencrars practical com- 
mon sense steered him safely between these extremes. He waited an hour beyond the 
arrival of the siege-train ; he felt that all now depended on Time, on closing the war 
before the hot season could set in on our European troops, entailing death in a hundred 
shapes on ail ranks, and the expenses of another campaign on the Government." Siis 
Henry Montgomery Lawrence's Essays, Military and Political, written in India; 
Loudon, 1S59. 

" Moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absaxom, ' Let me now choose ont twelve 
thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night. And I will come 
upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the 
people that are with him shall flee.' "—2d Sam : svii. 

"The Prince (of Wahlstadt, Blucher) had a very prompt and penetrating eye. If 
he said, ' That village there, those heights, or'that copse must be taken,' or ' this or 
that wing, or the center must advance, in order to prevent such one or another result,' 
in every case the order was apposite', and perfectly practical. In snch wise, alone was 
the battle of Laon, the key to (the capture of) Paris (in 1814) won. Napoleon himself 
exerted all his might to break the right wing and center (of Blucher), and get posses- 
sion of the direct road to Laon. The Prince patiently observed the changes of the 
struggle, even until evening ; at length he spoke : ' Now it is time to put an end to (his 
business.' Then he took out his watch and gave the order accordingly, ' to make a 
general attack at a designated time ; York especially shall pass from his defensive to 
an ofi'ensive as fierce as his force will permit ; let him set Are to the adjacent Anllage 
and rout the French and pursue them as fiercely and as far as circumstances will 
permit.' A decided victory was the result, in which York had the greatest share." 
Bieske's Sluc/ier. 

It is very questionable if any portion of the Army of the 
Potomac ever fought as well — perhaps " well " is not the word 
— rather, ever showed more bulldog pluck than Heintzelman's 
corps at Williamsburg. Not that this glorious army did not 
fight marvelously well on other occasions; but Wellington- 
admitted that troops green to "fire often face death with more 
reckless enthusiasm than veterans who have learned from expe- 
rience the folly of exposing themselves needlessly. The "Iron 
Duke " spoke of the young British officers who had never been 
under fire before, hastening to meet death at Waterloo as gaily 
as if they were going to a ball. Perhaps one reason for this 
apparent indifiereuce arises from the fact that men of a brave 



BIOGRA.PHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 265 

nation do not learn, before they have gone through one sharp 
battle, to appreciate its dangers. 

Lieutenant Lamping — so frequently quoted in the chapters 
relating to Kearny in Algiers — avIio served with the French 
■ Foreign Legion in Africa, uses the following language in regard 
to his " baptism of fire :" 

" This was niy first battle in the open field, and I cannot say 
tliat it made much imj)ression upon me. My imagination had 
pictured the terrors of the scene so vividly to me that the real- 
ity fell far short of iti I was moreover prepared for it by all 
manner of perils by land and by sea. I have frequently ob- 
served that men of lively imagination (and accordingly most 
southrons) have a greater dread of fancied than of real dangers. 
Before the decisive moment arrives, they have exhausted all the 
terrors of death and are prepared for the worst. The cold, 
phlegmatic northerner, on the contrary, goes with greater cool- 
ness into battle, but often finds it worse than he expected." 

Marshal Ney, after explaining to General Dumas his manoeu- 
vres at Lutren, in 1813, which decided the day, added: " I had 
only battalions of conscripts (new levies), and I have reason to 
congratulate myself on it ; and doubt whether I could have 
done the same thing with the old Grenadiers of the Guard. I 
had before me the best of the enemy's troops, the whole of the 
Prussian Guards ; our bravest grenadiers after having twice fail- 
ed, would, perhaps, not have carried the village ; but I led these 
brave childreii five times to the charge, and their docility, j^er- 
haps, too, their inexperience, served me better than veteran 
courage ; the French Infantry is never too young." 

It is curious to contemplate the effects of the same causes 
upon different individuals, and the reader will find a result simi- 
lar to that at which Lamping reached by a different process of 
thought, in one of the actors at Williamsburg, quoted a little 
furthor on. Brevet Major W. B. (then Second Lieutenant in the 
Fifth Excelsior) describes Williamsburgh (where he commanded 
his company) as the hottest fight he ever was in, Chancellorsville 
coming next in severity ; Gettysburg, in his opinion, fell far 
short of both, although his brigade (Excelsior) did the hardest 
kind of fighting on the second day (2d July, Thursday), on the 
34 



266 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

left, repulsing Longstreet's turning movement. The lines were 
closer together when they exchanged fires at Williamsburg 
than on any other occasion. He himself cut down and preserved 
a sapling, which only made a good stout cane, yet, nevertheless, 
had been hit by nine bullets. 

Major C. S, W., First New York Artillery — who made his 
debut in this battle, served throughout the war with distinction, 
and was brevetted Brigadier-General at a time when brevets 
were indeed worth something — has often remarked that the 
troops, on this sombre May day, marched up binder fire just as 
lines are represented going into battle in pictures. It is A^ery 
unlikely if he exjjosed himself with such total disregard of self 
again. Kearny often spoke of this officer's conduct on this 
occasion, and, highest commendation for an old soldier, said 
that the green volunteer behaved as well as any regular (mean- 
ing veteran) could have done. 

There are many reasons why our troops should have behaved 
well at Williamsburg. They had been disgusted with lying 
in the mud throughout the previous fall and winter, blockaded, 
as it were, or held in check by o, phantom, enemy, whose unreality 
had been dissipated by Kearny's sudden dash on Centreville 
and into Manassas. They burned to avenge Ball's Bluff; Drain- 
ville had taught them what a vigorous attempt to do something 
could accomjilish. The inaction before Yorktown had not im- 
proved their temper ; they felt their strength ,; they knew their 
capability, and they longed to measure themselves with rebels 
who had vanished from the battle field, which they claimed as a 
great Southern victory, and was not, and had eluded them in 
those fortified lines where Cornwallis surrendered to Wash- 
ington. 

Fortunately, tlie troops who led the Union advance up the 
Peninsula had been attempered into a steel lance-blade, whose 
point was that " Fighting Joe " who crowned a long series of 
desperate conflicts by the escalade of Lookout Mountain, that 
nonpariel "battle above the clouds," 

Hooker led his men into action and disposed of them with 
the calm intrepidity of a practised leader. His presence held 
his men up against fearful odds ; and when they had to give 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 267 

ground (his single division had to sustain the attack of far out- 
numbering forces, gradually increasing to quadruple its own ; 
we took prisoners from forty rebel regiments), he became a sort 
of Providence, exercising an influence of which none but the 
bravest of the brave are capable of; so that his troops gathered 
around him as a centre and a strong and unshakable tower, to 
make their last desperate stand. Still, even he could not have 
held them up to such work had not the troops felt, had not each 
soldier known, that the man who was coming up to relieve them 
was that fearless tAvin-spirit, who would do all that could be 
done to convert a momentary check into a victory. They knew 
that Keabny would strain every nerve ; that he valued " Fight- 
ing Joe," and that Hookek valued " Fighting Phil." Together 
they had fought in Mexico ; amid manifold perils they had 
learned to estimate each other at their full worth ; and they 
relied upon each other with the assurance only such men can 
feel and inspire. Hard pressed, and aware that his troops were 
nearly exhausted, Hookee felt — and so expressed himself — 
abandoned by those who should have been the first to support 
him. In anguish of spirit at his needless loss — needless had he 
been duly succored — he recorded his sense of this abandonment 
in language which, however bitter, the people feel was very near 
the truth : " History will not be believed when it is told that 
the noble officers and men of my division were permitted to 
carry on this unequal struggle from moi-ning till night, unaided, 
in the presence of more than thirty thousand of their comrades 
with arms in their hands. Nevertheless it is true." 

Hooker was perfectly right, and acted in strict accordance 
with the principles of war, when he attacked the retreating 
rebels at Williamsburg, He would have violated those rules 
had he not done so. To press home a retreating foe is just what 
our generals always ought to have done, and just exactly as 
Hooker did. The rebels also, in this fight, were true to their 
principles — never to shun a fight when they expected to be able 
to do a greater proportional damage to us than they thought we 
could do to them ; and to reinforce theii- rear guard to insure its 
being able to make a decided stand even though they sacrificed 
that rear guard, as at Falling Waters, so that they saved their 



268 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

main army and their material. None of their generals seemed 
to value human life ; but then they always required an equiva- 
lent for their prodigality of blood — always, except at Gettys- 
burg. Thei-e, however, for the first time, Lee acted upon open 
ground, where his actions could be discerned ; and there he 
demonstrated that he was not the general his admirers claimed 
him to be, and that all his reputation had been built up on the 
ability of his subordinates, and the errors and negligence of his 
opponents. 

But enough of this argument. Hooker did attack, and 
bravely, in the same spirit that Sherman, two years afterward 
(27th June, 1864), assaulted at Kenesaw Moimtain, claiming 
that his daring feat " produced good fruits and demonstrated 
to General Johnston (who commanded on the Peninsula in May, 
1862) that I would assault, and that boldly." Hooker's division 
seemed about to experience the fate of the assaulting column 
amid the Georgia Appallachians, and would have done so had 
he not had Phil. Kearny to appeal to for support, and Phil. 
Kearny to respond to his appeal and to answer promptly and 
efficiently the summons of Hooker for the reinforcements 
necessary to preserve and maintain his soldierly honor and his 
division's existence. 

The facts are these : Through storm and mire, and loitering 
after loitering regiments, brigades and divisions. Hooker sent 
word back to Kearny, furthest in the rear, to hurry forward. 
Other regiments intervened, but his trust Avas in Kearny. 
" Tell Hooker I am coming," said Kearny, whose division was 
the last to leave the lines at Yorktown. These Avere his woi'ds 
to the aid who brought him Hooker's message ; and Kearny, 
the last to whom such an appeal, under ordinary circumstances, 
Avould have been made, was the first to come up and save 
Hooker. Yes, saved Hooker in every sense of the word, as 
Stevenson" testifies in his history of the " Excelsior, or Sickles 
Brigade." 

Captain F. E. G. wrote as follows in this connection : " I had 
not the honor of fighting under your illustrious relative, the la- 
mented Phil. Kearny, but I did have the honor of seeing him 
on more than one battlefield ; and especially do I remember the 




MAJOR GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY AT WILLIAMSBURG, 
May 5, 1862. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 269 

joy I exj)erienced on seeing liim come up the road at the battle 
•of Williamsburg. I cheered him then, standing in mud a foot 
deep, with the tears trickling down my cheeks for joy. He 
saved our division, and who can tell how much more ? " 

"I shall never forget," said Brevet Major W. B., "the arrival 
of the brave General Kearj^y and his trooj)S at the battle of 
Williamsburg, on May 5, 1862. I at that time was a second 
lieutenant, in command of my company (Company I, Fifth Reo-i- 
ment, Excelsior Brigade). The Excelsior Brigade, excejDt one 
regiment — the Second Excelsior Seventy-first New York Vol- 
unteers — together with the rest of Hooker's division, had been 
engaged in the battle, and at the time of Kearny's reaching 
the battle field the whole division was well fought out, as the 
list of killed and wounded will attest. We had been forced 
back a full half mile from where we had fought in the morning, 
and our wounded in the hospital were in great danger, not only 
from capture, but since the enemy's projectiles were visiting 
them. When General Kearny arrived, he passed through our 
lines and soon retook the lost ground, and, after a short but gal- 
lant fight, he made the battle of Williamsburg a victory. 

" When the Excelsior Brigade was forced back at the battle 
of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, two guns wei-e left, loaded and 
primed, all ready to fire, by the artillery, but no artillery-man 
was there to fire them. A second lieutenant belonging to 
Company F, Fifth Regiment, Excelsior Brigade, by the name 
of Squier (a brother of Mr. Squier, so long connected with 
Frank Leslie's jiaper), discovered that the guns were loaded 
and stood by them; and when our troops had fallen to the rear 
of these guns, and the rebels, hard pressing them, made their 
appearance, he pulled the lanyards, and the rebels, not forget- 
ting the days of masked batteries, thought it was all a Yankee 
trick our falling back, and they immediately retired ; and before 
they recovered General Kearny had arrived, and then the day 
was safe." 

There is no question but that Kearny fully appreciated the 
work before him from the outset. Brevet Brigadier-General C. 

S. W establishes this when he states that he saw Kearny's 

division drawn out ready to move on the first intimation, long 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOE-GENEKAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

before any . orders were issued to that eifect. De Tbobriaistd 
says that from the start Keari^^t felt that " SxoisrEMAisr had the • 
■whole rebel rear guard on his hands " on the evening of the 4th, 
and that Heintzelman's aid confirmed the exactitude of Kear- 
ney's conjectures when, next day, about 11a. m., this aid en- 
countered the advancing succors, westward of the Brick Church. 

Full justice has never been done, hitherto, by any historian 
of the war, to the battle of Williamsburg, In many of its fea- 
tures it was one of those conflicts which ought to be remembered 
in the catalogue of decisive battles. It decided one fact — that 
the men of the North were not the men which their detractors 
had pictured them ; that if any people on the face of the earth 
would fight and stand up to their work under every disadvan- 
tage, Northerners would ; that they would fight as well as 
Southerners, if not better, and endure as much, if not more. 
They were no longer quirites (citizens), but milites (soldiers). 

In this battle Kearny showed himself also in his true colors. 
If any man doubted that he would fulfill all that report had 
ascribed to him, that doubt was set at rest forever. He justi- 
fied the opinion of one of those generals (whose name the snarl- 
ing but capable Gueowski declared "ought to corruscate as 
the purest light of patriotism for future generations ; one who 
never fails where honor and patriotism are to be sustained"), 
Major-General A. A. Humphreys, now Chief of Engineers — ■ 
who wrote " that Kearny's action, by universal testimony, Avas 
magnificent." The words of Blucher's biographer, Bieske, in 
regard to his hero, will aj^ply with equal force to Kearny, an 
identically parallel character : " Fifteen years Blucher lived in 
his retirement very happily [Kearny spent ten years in luxu- 
rious ease] as he declared, and yet proved (when the time came) 
that, with his characteristic resolution, whatever he willed to 
do he could accomplish." 

" One memorable fact which you ought not to forget in your 
nari'ative of that fight," are Hooker's own words in a letter to 
the author, was that Kearny's division was the last to leave York, 
town, and was the first to come to my assistance." The reader 
must almost have been in such a predicament to conceive the 
fiery impatience of Keaeny, as he waded rather than marched 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 271 

forward, appreciating the dvie need of his friend, like Damon 
flying to save his Pythias, under the suspended ax. The rever- 
Iberations of the battle — like the thunder of a tempest afar ofl:' 
— deadened into an ominous hum by the distance, the interven- 
ing forests and the pouring rain, must have inflamed his deter- 
mination to press on, an4 have quickened his ardent thirst to 
make the name he knew he only required the opportunity to 
win, had not the necessity of straining every nerve to gain the 
field before it was too late to rescue Hooker, roused his fiery 
nature into almost superhuman energy. Then, after he had 
passed the brick church, the cannon shots that almost immedi- 
ately began to " lob in " from the still unseen guns, soon told 
their own tale. "Lob in" is an ultra English expression, but it 
is very significant, denoting the heavy or lazy fall into mud, 
distinctive of single shots at long range. These were soon suc- 
ceeded by the spiteful rattling, roll and crash of the musketry 
nigh at hand, and then Kearny's division, stooping upon the 
furious battle field, realized Voltaire's description of Cumber- 
land's infiintry at Fontenoy : 

" On the wings of the wind, like a storm-clond its ranks. 
Bearing lightning and thunder and death in its flanks." 

Xor was his conduct to Hooker less generous or worthy of 
note. Like Boufflers at Malplaquet, he would not suj^ersede 
Hooker on the field of his glory, but left him the direction, as 
the hero of Lille yielded the first place to Villars ; even as 
OuTRAM waived his rank in favor of Havelock, and allowed 
the latter to complete the task he had so nobly begun, of reliev- 
ing Lucknow ; even as Niel, the superior of Havelock, was 
content with being his coadjutor and with lending him all the 
assistance in his power in achieving the success of a cause both 
had so greatly and nearly at heart. 

In regard to the hour when Kearny got on the ground, 
there has been a great deal of discussion, Kearny himself says 
2 p. M. One of his aides-de-camp, in a letter from the battle- 
field, fixes 2:30 p. M. Subsequently, in conversation, the same 
aid stated that Kearny ordered him to keep the time, and he 
did so ; that the actual record was lost, but that he knew that 
Kearny got up at 2:30 p. m., and that his regiments were en- 



272 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

gaged at 3 p. m. Heintzelman testifies to the earlier Lour of 
2:30 p. M. ; and the Evening Posfs war correspondent corrobo- 
rates Kearny's own opinion of 2 p. m. "Were not this all-suffi- 
cient to establish the Kearny side of the controversy as to time, 
the following method of arriving at the truth is unanswerable, 
because it is confirmatory evidence, unbiassed and totally disin- 
terested — a perfectly mathematical method of demonstrating 
the truth like a proposition : 

Major, then Lieutenant, W. B, (who distinctly remembers 
Kearny's arrival on the field, working or jerking the stump of 
his left arm as he was accustomed to do when excited) declares 
that he did not come up until 4 p. m. The major admits that 
the fight commenced at 7 a. i^l Hooker states 7:30 a. m., in 
his report ; but it is well known that he brought on the fight by 
a daring reconnaissance with his stafi" as soon as it was light. 
It is almost certain it began at an earlier hour — about daybreak. 
De Trobriand says that Heintzelman's aid charged with seek- 
ing reinforcements stated, when they met, that the fight had 
lasted over four hours. This was at the Brick Church. From 
this point to Fort Magruder was three miles in an air line ; to 
the real fighting not over this distance by the road. Giving 
De Trobriand from one hour and a half to two hours to over- 
come all the intervening difficulties, and become engaged, brings 
it down to 1 p. M. He says he had been actively engaged for 
about an hour, when a rapidly-developing fire on his left hand 
relieved his mind. This was Kearny, at 2 p. m. Consequently, 
De Trobriand, a disinterested witness, proves that Kearny 
was not only on the field but had brought quite a large portion 
of his force into action by 2 p. m. As Kearny's reports are 
very detailed, it is needless to enter further into the develop- 
ments of the battle, and the reader's attention is now invited to 
some interesting statements from the correspondence of the 
general and his friends. The following letter, written almost 
on the battlefield by one of Kearny's aids, will give a pretty 
fair general idea of the fight, and prove of interest as a contem- 
poraneous narrative, thrown together almost by the light of the 
conflict : 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 273 

" I am safe. You must have heard of our action by this time, 
though I know at first the papers did not know any thing of it. 
On the day of the battle (Monday, oth), we were encamped 
about two miles beyond Yorktown, on the road to Williams- 
burg. General Heixtzelman, with Hooker's division, was in 
advance. We w^ere ready to start early, but did not, on account 
of awaiting orders. We commenced our march at about eight, 
and it was with great difficulty that we could get on, the roads 
being very bad on account of the rain which had fallen since 
three o'clock a. m., and continued most of the rest of the- day. 
Just before we reached the Brick Church, orders came that we 
should advance as fast as possible, that Hooker was hotly 
engaged. General Kearny, after giving his orders to his 
generals, moved on ahead to investigate the roads. After he 
had gained a full knowledge he returned to the redoubt thrown 
up, which at one place commands the main road, though not 
the one which we took, which latter was a cart-road, entering 
the main road behind {i. e. turning) the redoubt. 

" As soon as Berry's division came up, the General leading, 
we shortly after reached General Heixtzelman," Avho, with 
Hooker's assistance " was holding up the Excelsiors, who had 
done well in the earlier part of the day, but were disheartened 
by heavy loss. General Heintzelhax, when he saw it was 
useless to endeavor to get them to advance, ordered General 
KEAR]s"Tr to advance, who was only too glad to do so. General 
Kearxy and General Hooker (who, by the way, earlier in the 
day had a horse shot under him) led, followed by their stafls; 
then came General Berry's brigadge. 

" Let me now describe the country, and then the action ; let 
me also mention that it was owing entirely to Kearny's coming 
up when he did, that the day was won. The road to Williams- 
burg is almost entirely through the woods, except in one or two 
places. Where the battle (actual fighting) took place, Avas on 
the confines of the woods ; here the rebels had dug rifle-pits, 
which they covered or protected with abatis. Behind these 
were works — that is, several forts. 

[Here follows an original rough draft of it, drawn on the field, 
which was the clearest that was sent home or published.] 
35 



2T4: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" Being on the staif, I saw most of the action, for my duties 
calling me hither and thither enabled me to observe more than 
one whose position was more stationary. 

[The writer was engaged in his appropriate duty at the front 
during the fighting, and after the fray was over attending to 
the woiinded, and collecting and bringing forward the dead, 
among them two comrades on the staff.] 

" Just before you reach the open country, you come to a hol- 
low, and on the left of the road a stream (emj)tying unto Col- 
lege creek, an aiHuent of the James.) General Kearny rode 
himself up to the cannon, which, placed on a little rise, com- 
manded the road (these guns were at the time unsupported) so 
as to see on what ground he was to act. He then rode to the 
left of the road, the bullets whizzing around us. Irving says 
of "V^ASHiNGTON, that after the first fight he wrote to his 
brother, ' the bullets whistled around me, and really the sound 
was delightful.' When spoken to in after years in reference 
to tEis gasconade, he remarked that ' if he had said so, it was 
when he had not heard many.' Now this was the first time I 
had heard the bullets whistle, and I can tell you it is not 
delightful — not even pleasing. But though the sound does not 
become familiar, the thoughts getting engrossed, you forget the 
sound, or rather forget to hear them. 

" General Kearny ordered General Berry to occupy the 
woods to the left and a little to the right, which he did. This 
movement retook our lost pieces, or rather some of them. 

" On oxir right was De Trobriand's (55th N". Y. V., the 
Lafayette Guard) and some other troops of Hooker's division. 
It appears, from what I can learn, that Hooker kind of stumbled 
upon the enemy's works in the morning. Major Charles S. 
Wainwright placed his guns and silenced the battery of the 
enemy. The enemy's fire was very heavy upon his (C. S. W.'s) 
gunners, and the supporting regiment was driven from the 
guns, or whether Hooker thought it better to lose the guns, so 
as to prevent the enemy's flanking him, I do not know. 

" Well, when we came up we gained steadily on the enemy. 
We reached the scene of action about half-past two ; the fight- 
ing" ceased at six-thirty or seven ; we having followed the enemy 



BIQQEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 275 

to his ramparts. At daybreak General Kearny, leading with 
Brigadier-General Birney's brigade, took Fort Magriider. 
General Jameson, another of our brigadier-generals, marched 
on and entered Williamsburg, throwing out one regiment as 
skirmishers, supported by the rest beyond the town. At about 
noon we received orders to remain near Williamsburg. 

" Two of our aides were killed, A. A. G. James Wilson and 
Lieutenant Barnard. They were killed leading an assault ; 
the first shot through the head with the ball of a fowling rifle, 
most likely by a half-breed Indian. After the battle we found 
several dead, and the prisoners said there was a company of 
them used as sharpshooters. Barnard was shot through the 
abdomen. He lived a little time, and was perfectly sensible. 

" General Kearny exposed himself continually. At one time 
he and Lieutenant Moore and another of his aides were in 
advance of our guns when one of our soldiers cried ' take care, 
sir, they aim at you.' They had scarcely time to turn their 
horses when a volley whistled by. At another time he rode up 
to the Fire Zouaves, whose Colonel it is feared is taken prisoner, 
saying * where is your Colonel, boys.' ' We don't know,' was 
the response. ' Well then follow me,' and he led them to a gal- " 
lant charge.* Continually he exposed himself Our men were 

* This was substantially the reply of Lyon at Wilson's creek, and it would be as juSt 
to charge him with reckless exposure as to condemn Kearkt for a similar devoted 
gallantry. Both felt that example was the necessity of the hour and forgot self ia 
cause and country. "To call the deaths of Lton and Bakbr 'military suicide,' as 

has done, is a cruel aspersion upon the dead, against which they cannot defend 

themselves, and he has no right, sitting safely at home and knowing nothing of the 
circumstances, and never having seen active service, to write and publish su.-eh an 
article as his." 

Circumstances must govern in all cases. Our men are not veterans. The flict must 
not be forgotten. They must be led. You cannot order them forward and expect them 
to go alone. You cannot station them in a heavy fire and expect them to remain with- 
out flinching, unless supported and controlled, though they be the bravest men on 
earth. Example is every thing ; a single word, the turning of a hair may sway them, so 
as to make all the diflference between a fight and a flight, and this is not from fickle- 
ness. They are intelligent and reasoning beings. They are not afraid to do whatever 
you are not afraid to lead them in yourself. But if they suspect you of flinching, there 
is something impossible or something going wrong, and they are like sheep without a 
Bhepherd. Thus may one firm man support a whole corps, and that one must be their 
leader. They absolutely lean on him, relying on his superior judgment, and thus can 
he control them in time of emergency, after they have learned the power of his support, 
and not before. They gradually learn this mesmerically, unerringly. Inexperienced 
troops must be led, and you all know the vital importance of their having officers reli- 



276 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOK-GENEKAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

brave. We had five regiments engaged contending against 
great odds. Our loss in killed, wounded and missing is over 
four hundred. The enemy's is very much greater. A com- 
missary, a mere boy, said he wished to go into the fight. He 
is a crack shot, and he scarcely reached the fighting before a 
rebel fired, the ball grazing his hair. As the rebel was near he 
dropped the rifle, drew a revolver and shot him dead, saying it 
was a shame to use a rifle where a pistol could be used. Another 
boy went into the fight. Before going they tried to persuade 
him not to go, but he would, saying, ' I am good at a shot, and 
if it comes to the bayonet I shall see what I shall do.' He was 
found after the battle with a rebel's bayonet through him, and 
his through the rebel, both lying together where they had 
struggled." 

Williamsburg, while it was one of the most glorious, was one 
of the most extraordinary kind of fights that was ever fought. 
Sum:jtee, the highest in rank on the field, one of the bravest 
and the most patriotic of men, did nothing of any consequence, 
and what little he did do, was rather injurious than beneficial* 
Impetuous to a fault, in general, on this occasion he displayed a 
want of energy which is almost irreconcilable with his subsequent 
determination at Fair Oaks. Heintzleman exhibited a magna- 

able and equal to any emergency, who in all coolness can judge when it is necessary 
to be rash and when to be merely courageous, and can act accordingly. 

Thus far I have spoken only of new soldiers. But even after they have learned con- 
fidence in their leaders, and still later, even after they have learned full confidence in 
themselves, you cannot always stay in the rear and expect your men in front to do 
their thorough work, however much they may feel the power of your presence to back 
them up. There are times when the toughest veterans will flinch and the best-drilled 
machines hesitate and stop, although the mighty presence of Napoleon himself be 
there to force them on I He was a model of cool courage and of caution, and knew 
well the necessity of guarding his own personal safety. Yet Napoleon in person was 
obliged to lead his bravest men over the bridge of Lodi, and again at Areola and at 
Waterloo, in the last grand charge of the Old Guard. He felt the dire necessity of lead- 
ing them himself, and he rushed to their head, but his officers seized him and forced him 
back. Had they left him to follow his own instinct, he might have turned the fortunes 
of the day. 

Behind all this comes the grandest consideration of all, God guides the balls, and a 
man is really as safe in the front as in the rear. When his earthly mission is fulfilled, 
the shot will find him as quick as the bayonet. Then it is time for him to go. 

All things work together for good. Lyon's death was more useful than his longer 
life would have been, else Providence would have detained him here. Newspaper 
critics and some others have lost sight of this. Pages 38, 39 and 40, " Soldiers' Letters^'' 
by Ltdia MiNTtTRN Post,, 



BIOGRA.PflY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 27Y 

nimity which, while admirable as a quality, was out of place at 
this time in one who was not only the ranking officer, but the 
one placed in charge by the Commander-in-chief. The greatest 
part of the battle was ordered by the division-general youngest 
in rank, and it was not until the very close that Kearny, 
Hooker's superior, assumed his rights. Strangest of all, with 
two Major-Grenerals on the ground, and from 36,000 to 38,000, 
perhaps even, at the close of day, 45,000 men present, 8,000 men 
did all the fighting, and came near being beaten, with 30,000 
who scarcely fired a shot, within a few hundred perches ; who 
had only to have shown themselves, as determined to act, to 
put an end to the engagement almost as soon as it commenced. 
A simple strategic movement, early in the morning, such as 
Hancock made late in the afternoon, must have manoeuvered 
the rebels out of their position with scarcely any fighting, by 
an effort of what Decker would style practical-strategy. The 
result was, Hooker who ought to have played only a subordi- 
nate part, and Kearny, who ought never to have been allowed 
to play any part at all, became the heroes of a battle which was 
one of the most glorious for the Ilpion arms, and the most 
obstinately contested of all in which the Army of the Potomac, 
in whole or in part, was engaged during the four years of the 
war. Williamsburg was fair stand-up fight. It was " a fight 
of giants," as Francis I, said of Marignano, in an arena of 
clearing, encompassed by the primeval woods. What is grander, 
it was of MEN^, of Americans, and amid that fearful whirlwind 
of battle, as was remarked by one of the bravest, Kearny was 
the noblest figure in this, his first battle for freedom and nation- 
ality — " magnificent." And as he ghone in this, his first, he 
shone in every one afterward, through all to the last, when he 
laid down his life for his country, feeling like Hunyadi, the 
Magyar hero and patriot, " It is allotted to every one once to 
die ; it is a debt we owe to nature ^ but to die the death of a 
hero for Fatherland and Faith, it is a grace which the All-Power- 
ful only accords to His elect. God is with us — charge ! " 

God was with us, indeed, at Williamsburg, only as Ziethen 
declared to Frederick the Great ^hm the latter despondingly 
remarked, " The days of miracles were past." " Yet He, the 



2TS BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

' Ancient of Days,' above, holds us up. He will not let us fall." 
He did hold us up. In this sense, the fallen at Willamsburg 
were only the A'ictims on the threshold ; those who fell at Five 
Forks the expiation at the altar. Then came triumph, freedom, 
a restored Constitution and country ! Kearny was to fall 
while the sun was rising amid clouds ; Wadsworth at his set- 
ting, amid golden glories, the promise of a halcyon morn about 
his crimson disk. 

" Victory 1 Victory I 
Oh. God of Battles, give ua victory ! " 

was the cry of 1862; and in 1865 He gave it, full measure, 
heaped, poured out into the bosom, Alas ! if only the whole 
nation had been as true to themselves and to Him as Kearny 
and his peers ! 

The battle ground of Williamsburg is very peculiar, and, if 
strongly occupied and held and well defended, presents a better 
tield-position than Yorktown, The head waters of College 
creek, which empties into the James, and those of Queen's creek, 
which flows into the York, were less than a mile apart, and there 
is actually less than two miles of available front to move upon, 
free from great natural obstacles.* Across the relatively unob- 
structed space of three miles the rebels had constructed thirteen 
defensive works — five, six or nine redoubts, and four to eight 
open works, according to difierent plans consulted — whose 
cross-fires would sweep every foot of ground by which they 
could be approached. About the centre stood Fort Magruder 
a strong bastioned fieldwork, mounting thirteen guns, situated 
about one mile south-east of Williamsburg, at the fork of the 
Yorktown and Warwick roads. In addition to this, the rebels 
had protected their position by heavy and extensive slashings 
— in fact, the forest was felled for a breadth of nearly half a 
mile — and moreover stood under cover of the woods; whereas 
our troops had to wad» to the attack through mud like glue, and 
over a clearing six to seven hundred yards wide, advancing 
almost without shelter. 



* The measurements, position, etc., have been taken from a map and an exquisitely 
executed plan, most kindl y furnished the writer by Major-General A. A. Humphreys, 
Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., to whom also he is greatly indebted for other maps, etc. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. £79 

The rebel position was indeed well adapted for the deliveiy 
of a defensive battle. It is true that it could be turned by the 
York river ; but what did that turning amount to, when the 
movement was eventually made in the lukewarm way in which 
it was attempted ? The object of the I'ebel Commander-in-chief 
was to delay General McClellan. He had arrested his advance 
for nearly a month, before Yorktown, He had no reason to 
doubt he could accomplish a similar result at Williamsburg; 
and, judging of the future from the past, he would have done 
so had any general but one of the Hooker type led the pursuit, 
and any general but Kearny flown — in Hooker-Keakny style 
— to his assistance. 

The efiect of the victory of Williamsburg is now well known. 
Richmond was thrown into consternation* by the result. That 
victory, followed up, would have given us the rebel capital. 
That this crowning triumph was not achieved, was due to the 
onty one by whom it could have been been achieved — McClel- 
lan, Common sense, go-ahead leaders, like Torstenson or 
Teaun or Blucher or Changarniee, or any one of the French 
Generals who made a mark in the Algerian campaign, in which 
Kearny first learned his business, would have utilized his vic- 
tory, as Torstenson always profited by success, as Turenne 
bowled the Allies out of Alsace, as Traun backed Frederic out 
of Bohemia, as Blucher swept every thing before him in 1813, 
1814, and 1815, and as Changarnier, when he had no cannon, 
gathered up his infantry and hurled them like a gigantic missile 
at the Arabs, exclaiming, " There is my artillery," 

Almost the whole of the fighting — that is, the severe fighting — 
which constituted Williamsburg a battle, not a mere aftair of a 
rear-guard, occurred in the belt of partially cleared ground in 
front of Fort Magruder. The hard fighting was also confined 
to the division of Hooker from daylight, or 7 or Y^ a. m., to 2 
or 2^ or 3 p. m., unsupported ; after that time, to his own and 
about one brigade of Kearny's arriving division. 

* See Carleton's " Following the Flag," pp. 83, S4, etc., referring to Pollard's "Sec- 
ond Year of the War," p. 29, etc. ; Lossing's "Civil War in America." vol. ii., J). 3ir4, 
etc., and other cotemporaneous publications; '■' Bebellion Record,'" Vol. V, Doc, page 
25 (1); Greeley il, 225-'C; Tennet, 222, 1 1; Abbott, ii, 55, referring to "Report on 
the Conduct of the War." lb., 1, 391. 



280 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

It is very doubtful if first and last the Unionists had 8,000 
men actually engaged in this immediate portion of the field. 
On the Yorktown road — at the Adams or Whittaker House, 
where another road branches off to the east or right, by which 
Fort Magruder can be turned, and taken in rear to the right, 
iuid in the rear of Hooker's right flank — Sumner massed his 
coqDS. His action or inaction is unintelligible.* It is said that 
liis dispositions were made against a supposititious line of battle 
ill: his front, and to his right, where he imagined the rebels were 
posted in force, manoeuvering directly against him, and that he 
considered the attack upon Hooker was nothing but a feint, 
vv'hich grew, through circumstances, into an actual engagement. 
SuHNER is dead. He was a true man ; brave, patriotic, and whole- 
hearted ; but, on this occasion, he could not have erred in a 
greater degree than he did. The ti'ue point of attack was to the 
rig-ht of where he stood, and against the extreme rebel left, where 
Hancock did assail Hill, and with a withering point blank 
volley, blew him away. Our left center and left should have 
menaced while being refused. It would appear that there was 
an impression upon the minds of Heintzleman and Sumner, 
that the ground between them was an impassable swamp. Grant 
that. From the disposition of the ground, this was an excus- 
able error of judgment for the moment; — but only for a 
moment — since a trial, a reconnoissance, out of fire, such as 
Kearny made this very day, more than once under fire, would 
have dissipated the delusion. The whole country is very flat, 
and owing to heavy rains, was then covered with water ; but 
vv^hat impediment was that to a searching endeavor to unite the 
wings of the dislocated Federal force, and act with generalship 
and common judgment? Let that go, however. 

Had Sumner acted diflerently, Kearny would never have 
had this fine opportunity to display himself in all the grandeur 
of his complete soldiership. 

As for Heintzleman, brave as steel, and generous and self- 
forgetting as brave ; the soldiers will never forget him for 
— -* 

* StrarfTER's conduct on this occasion, was not unlike that of SEREURrEB'sat Cassano, 
SGch April, 1799. Mitchell's " Biographies of Eminent Soldiers." Sitwarofp, 141 ; 
Bsrthezene's " Memoires ; or Soutenies Militaires," I, .33, 35; Harjeb's Allison, II, 
2» ; Thiers' History of the French Revolution, II, 432. 



/ 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 281 

not forgetting them. When they were exhausted in body 
and despondent in spirit, before Kearny showed himself, 
he felt that something must be done to cheer them. So, 
gathering up the scattered bands, he ordered them to play. 
" Play," said he, " play ! it's all you're good for. Play, 
d — n it. Play some marching tune ! Play Yankee Doodle, 
or any doodle you can think of; only play something." * 
" General Hientzleman," says private James R. Burns, in 
his little book, — " The Battle of WiUiamsburg " — " however, 
ordered several of the bands to strike up national and martial 
airs, and when the strains of the familiar tunes reached the ears 
of the wounded, as they were being carried from the field, their 
cheers mingled with those of the soldiers (Kearny's)! "^^^ 
were just rushing into action. The efiect, too, was great on the 
other side, for some of the prisoners stated that when they 
heard the bands strike up ' Hail Columbia,' and heard our sol- 
diers cheer, they knew that victory would be ours. 

' The bands did play so merrily 
Our own sweet martial airs, 
And when ' Hail Columbia ' was heard. 
We soon forgot our cares.' " 

In front of Hooker and Kearny it Avas butcher work, iden- 
tical with Abercrombie's assault on the advanced works and 
lines of Ticonderoga, in July, 1759, in which the peerless Lord 
Howe fell, and the flower of the British forces perished in vain, 
Lord John Murray's Highland regiment losing nearly one-half 
its privates, as well as twenty-five officers, slain on the spot, or 
desperately wounded. Compare this with Kearny's and 
Hooker's list of casualties, and it will at once be comprehended 
that the slaughter at Williamsburg was even more severe than 
at Ticonderoga; although that engagement of the past is looked 
upon as a marked example of desperate bush-whacking and 
hard fighting.;]; While this was the state of affairs on the left, 

* Compare Captain Blake's " Three years in the Army of the Potomac,'" page 78. 

t Fortunately for his (Hooker's) laurels, General Keabnt, a splendid old veteran, 
who had seen service under the French in Algiers, came to his aid and restored the 
battle to the Federals. " Stacke's Story of the American TFar." London, 1860, page 58. 

X Out of 16,000 men (Cast. 1, 2, 279), just about the number Hooker and Kearnt 
nominally had, Abercrombie lost 2,000 killed and wounded (Cust. 1, 2, 282) and was 
defeated. Our loss on this occasion was about one-eighth heavier, and we were euc- 
cessftil, although Hooker and Keabnt did not have on hand over 9,000 men, 
36 



282 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

in the center or right, in front of Sumner, there was an oppor- 
tunity of displaying fine generalship.* With part of his front 
protected by a ravine and branch of College creek, he could 
liave launched such a column against the ememy's left, as must 
have swept away opposition, swung round, taken the whole 
rebel line of defence in the rear, and captured a large number 
of prisoners. 

It might have been made very much the same kind of fight 
as Count Schaumburg Lippe, once delivered, in 17G2, when he 
found himself with a detachment of six hundred infantry and 
cavalry in the presence of 2,000 Spaniards, who suddenly issued 
from a wood on which he was marching. He instantly recalled 
to mind the fact that there was a large pond in the neighbor- 
hood, on the road by which he had come ujj. In front of this 
body of water, so as to screen it, he posted his two hundred 
cavalry, in a single rank ; his infantry three deep, as usual at 
that date, constituting his other wing. The Spaniards extended 
their line so as to outflank him on both wings. The Count 
meanwhile fell back briskly on the pond, then passed his cavalry 
in the rear of his infantry to the opposite extremity of his line. 
Thus the water became a substitute for half of his front. This 
manoeuver enabled him to outflank the enemy, to attack them 
(RosBACH fashion) before they could remedy or meet the man- 
ceuver, and to roll up one wing before it could be reinforced 
from the other. Thus the Spaniards were completely beateru 

As to the numerical force of the rebels at Williamsburg, it is 
very difiicult to arrive at any correct opinion. The English 
author of the " Battle Fields of the South " says (page 204) : 
" LoNGSTREET Commanded on our side, and I know did not handle 
more than twenty-five thousand men." These words would 

* A day or two after the battle, Kearny rode up to Hooker'8 Headquarters and 
related as follows, in the presence of a common friend, from whose lips the statement 
was taken down in writing. He said " I have just seen Sumner ; Sumner said that the 
battle of Williamsburg was not understood ; that McClellan had considered it an 
affair of the heads of columns, while Hooker claimed that the attack was made upon 
him (Hooker). It was on the contrary a real pitched battle in which / (Sumner) was 
in command.'''' This Kearny emphasized. " The attack on Hooker was a mere feint. 
Their intention was to break through our centre, but I (Sumner) frustrated their 
design, and had my men drawn up in five lines, 30,000 men, sir, in five lines, one line, 
two lines, three lines, four lines, five lines ; " counting them off on his fingers ; Kearny 
imitating ; " seeing the dispositions I had made, they did not dare to attack." 



BIOGKAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 283 

justify the question, how many did Longstreet have at hand, 
under his command, whom he did not handle ? Such indirect 
language would lead any one to suppose that it was used on 
purpose to convey a false impression. Still, as he sets down 
the Union force at forty thousand, no great exaggeration, if 
any, it is fair to believe that he desired to state the exact truth. 
The writer has heard General Hooker estimate the rebel 
strength at "from seventy to ninety thousand, but nearer the 
latter than the former number." Any such estimate is not 
borne out either by subsequent revelations or any published 
authority. His own opinion is that the rebels had from fifteen 
to forty thousand engaged, the former number, early in the 
morning, the latter before the action closed. Brev. Major W. 
B — , of Hooker's division, had in his own hand the order 
regulating the retreat of the rebels. The rear-guard was to 
consist of six thousand men. It is most probable that Stone- 
man ran into this force on the afternoon of Sunday, 4th. 
Hooker encountered, first, the same troops, doubtless reinforced 
next day, Monday, 5th. A portion of the rebel army did march 
through Williamsburg, but countermarched and returned to 
feed the fight. As we took prisoners from forty regiments, it 
is equitable to supj^osQ that at this early stage of the war, 
before any great battle had been fought, the rebel regiments, 
comfortably housed during the winter, and at home, had not 
been depleted sufficiently to fall below 750 each. This gives 
thirty thousand — Carleton's estimate. Concede, however, 
that Johnston or Longstreet did not have over twenty-five 
thousand men, that number in a first class intrenched position, 
such as they occupied, ought to have repulsed and soundly 
beaten back thrice if not four or five times as many, according 
to the rule of war applicable to such conditions. Taking their 
own view of the matter, every additional fact makes the Union 
victory more remarkable and glorious. The rebel Generals, as 
a rule, performed marvels in one respect — they moved their 
troops during an engagement, with such celerity, to menaced 
points, that scarcely any battle occurred in which a single one 
of their regiments could complain that it was not " put in," or did 
not have all the fighting that any reasonable body of men could 



284r BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

desire. It is an equally difficult task to arrive at a correct esti- 
mate of the Union force which performed any service at Williams- 
burg, lu answer to an application to Hooker, that distinguished 
General replied that he had about eight thousand men ; his 
Adjutant-General states that the morning report returned Y,800 
present — and even if Kearny had brought up his whole divi- 
sion, he would have had only as many more. The straggling, 
however, inevitable from the condition of the roads, often knee 
deep for men and horses, hub deep for carriages, had reduced 
his force greatly, and even his leading brigade (Berry's) had 
scarcely become hotly engaged when the rebel vim grew grad- 
ually less and less virulent ; the night shut in, and the fighting 
ceased. 

Taking Hooker's estimate as correct, this would not give 
over twelve to sixteen thousand men, without counting those 
under Hancock ; but Hooker seems to forget that in conse- 
quence of the weather and condition of the roads, the flooded 
flat-lands, the woods and the broken ground, the straggling- 
must have been enormous; it is bad enough in all forced 
marches, even in dry weather and on dry roads. Kearny could 
not have put in one-third of his men, because the same causes 
which must have somewhat diminished Hooker's efifective 
force, contributed, in a much greater degree to decrease the 
numbers which Kearny could have had in hand after such a 
forced march* as he had been compelled to make. 

* The following is illustrative of a similar march, and worthy of comparison : " One 
of the worst features is the state of the weather. * * * At Wcickau, that same day, ■ 
(Sunday), rain began, * * * and on Monday, 19th (December, 1740), there was such 
a pour of rain as kept most wayfarers, though it could not the Prussian army, within 
doors. Rain in plunges fallen, and falling through that blessed day, making roads into 
mere rivers of mud. The Prussian hosts marched on all the same. * * * Rain still 
heavier, rain as of Noah, continued through this Tuesday. * * * This march for 
the rearward of the army * * * is thought to be the wettest on record. Waters 
all out, bridges down, the country one wild lake of eddying mud — up to the knee for 
many miles together ; up to the middle for long spaces ; sometimes even up to the chin 
or deeper, where your bridge was washed away. The Prussians marched through it as 
if they had been slate or iron. Rank and file, nobody quitted his rank, nobody looked 
sour in the face ; they took the pouring of the skies and the red seas of terrestrial 
liquid 'as matters that must be ; cheered one another with jocosities, with choral 
snatches (tobacco, I consider would not bum), and swashed unweariodly forward. Ten 
hours some of them were out, * * * ten to fifteen miles was the average distance 
come." Cabltlb's ' Frkdrich TM Second,'' volume 3, pages 148, 149. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KJIARNT. 285 

Consequently, after a dispassionate consideration, twelve 
thousand seems to be a generous estimate of our effective force 
"handled," to borrow a word from the statement of an oppo- 
nent. Conceding that Hooker's view is correct, and he finally 
had the whole reberarmy on his hands, that army, according 
to the rebel returns, comprised fifty-three thousand efiectives. 
As Hooker remarks, afterward, " I have some valuable papers, 
relating to this fight, which I have obtained from rebel sources," 
it is reasonable or just to suppose that he speaks with the 
highest authority when he says that by the time Kearny came 
up he was fighting the whole rebel army on the Peninsula, and 
it was that whole army that Kearny's shock decidedly defeated. 

Keeping this fact constantly in view, and another, which it 
would be difiicult to disprove, that certainly hot over ten to 
twelve thousand Unionists, at the utmost, fired a shot on that 
bloody Monday, 5th of May, 1862, Williamsburg becomes 
elevated into all that McClellan claimed for it afterward, " a 
complete success." It is worthy to rank with the South Moun- 
tain battle, to the north and on our right, in Fox and Turner's 
Gaps — where again Hooker commanded, Kearny having 
fallen — which the writer looks upon as the finest battle of the 
Army of the Potomac, considering the small portion of it 
brought into action, the disadvantages under which it labored, 
and the enormous advantages of position, as at Williamsburg, 
enjoyed by the rebels. 

A calm survey of all the circumstances must justify the deci- 
sion that too much praise cannot be awarded to Hooker for his 
audacity and tenacity at Williamsburg. Nor can less praise be 
lavished on Kearny, since had he not brought up a portion of 
his division, rushed it in, disposed it, fought it, and exposed 
himself as he did. Hooker must have come to grief. No won- 
der that McClellan, at a later date, too late, however, to coun- 
teract the impression made by his previous dispatches, giving 
the whole credit to Hancock,* felt compelled to do tardy jus- 

* As soon as it was discovered that the Confederates had withdrawn, a column was 
eent in pursuit. It came up with the retreating rear-guard at Williamsburg, now rein- 
forced from Johnston's army. Longstreet's division, which had already passed 
beyond the town, retraced its steps to aid in resisting the attack, and for nine hours 
Hooker's division alone made head against the whole Confederate force. That Gen&ral 



286 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAt PHILIP KEAENY. 

tice to the real heroes of the day ; that is, if honor won in the 
hottest fii'e against great odds and under tremendous difficul- 
tiesj constitutes the highest glory of an officer or of a soldier. 
A commander-in-chief may rest his claims to the gratitude and 
rewards of his country on brain woi-k, moral audacity, and able 
dispositions, but the subordinate general must display far dif- 
ferent qualities, physical courage, fertility of expedient, coolness 
and rapidity of thought under fire, and calmness, all which 
united, inspire the soldier with confidence in himself and his 
superior, comtempt of death, and the determination to succeed 
or die. 

At a later date, when it was too late, however, to counteract 
the impression made by his previous dispatches, giving the 
whole credit to Hancock, McClellan wrote as follows : 

Camp, 19 Miles from Williamsburg, } 
May 11, 1862. j" 

Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War : 

"Without waiting further ofBcial reports, which have not yet reached me, I 
wish to bear testimony to the splendid conduct of Hooker's and Kearny's 
divisions, under command of General Heintzelman, in the battle of Williams- 
bflrg. Their bearing was worthy of veterans. Hooker's division for (7) 
hours gallantly withstood the attack of greatly superior numbers, with very 
heavy loss. 

Kearny arrived in time to restore the fortunes of the day, and came most 
gallantly into action. 

says, " History will not be believed when it is told that the noble oflBcers and men oi 
my division were permitted to carry on this unequal struggle from morning until night 
unaided, in the presence of more than 30,000 of their comrades, with arms in their 
hands ; nevertheless, it is true." The entire loss during the day was 2,228, of whom 
456 were killed. 

General Hooker was justified in this bitter complaint. It has been reported that ho 
was relieved by a bayonet charge made by Hancock ; bvt there must have been an eiror 
in this assertion. The troops by whom it was said to have been made first encountered 
the enemy about 4 p. m., of the preceding afternoon (Sunday, 4th May). It was a drizzly 
day, and the men marched forward in no small confusion, over leaves in the woods, 
slippery with the rain, over fallen trees, and across ravines, so that it was impossible 
to preserve an alignment of a company, much more of a brigade. The night came on 
pitch-dark ; the 43d New York fired by mischance into a Pennsylvania regiment. Next 
day the former had to be withdrawn and another New York and Maine regiment put in 
its stead. All the morning (Monday, 5th May), heavy firing was heard. It was that 
which Hooker was encountering. Hancock's troops lay in line of battle from 1 p. m., 
to 4 p. M., when they receded before a front attack of a North Carolina regiment, aided 
by a flank attack of the Twenty-fourth Virginia. "History of the American Civil 
War," by John William Draper, M. D., L.L.D., New York, 1868, vol. 2, pages 380-^382. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 2S7 

I shall probably have occasion to call attention to other commands, and wish 
not to do injustice to them by mentioning them now. If I had had the full 
information I now have in regard to the troops above-named, when I first tele- 
graphed they would have been specially mentioned and commended. I spoke 
only of what I knew at the time, and I shall rejoice to do full justice to all 
engaged. 

GEO. B. McCLELLAN, 

Major- General Commanding. 

********* * 

General Kearny's forces in this battle were entirely dispro- 
portionate to his success. He entered with five regiments, from 
all of which many men had straggled, leaving him, at the first, 
the sum of one thousand nine hundred men. In his correspon- 
dence he says : 

""We dashed in at double-quick, our band playing, and rather reckless of 
myself, I located my men right, leading them o£f personally from the word ' go.' 
At the outset, seeing that time was precious, I charged back the mass of the 
enemy's sharp-shooters, who thought the field their own, our pieces having 
been abandoned by the gunners, with only two companies, barely eighty meu. 
But I remembered that such things had been done before, and had no alterna- 
tive, for my regiment had never, from morning, been allowed to close up, and 
BO off I went, too conspicuous from my showy horse [killed under him at Fair 
Oaks], and for several hundred yards dowu the roads, with bristling abatis on 
each side, filled with the enemy's marksmen. This, like all other things, only 
succeeded because the enemy presumes them, few as thoy are, the precursors 
of crowds behind." 

Kearny wrote home on the 5th and 8th: " We had a rather 
unexpected and severe afiair on the 5th instant, attended with a 
great deal of hardship afterward." He then went on to speak 
of his " embarrassment," which no one but himself observed, 
" from having been placed in command on the 2d of May, and 
the battle on the 5th, and the move (not his division, but Stone- 
man's) from Yorktown on the 4th instant, I never had a chance 
to know men nor ofiicers." Then, in his rattling way, but 
never intended for the public eye, he criticized the movements 
previous to his arrival on the field, and adds : " Still it was 
wonderful to think that the troops would stand fighting so long. 
For ourselves, ice went in as a dog takes a plunge, and siomis, 
of course ! I must say, that the men, all (and most of the offi- 



2S8 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

cers), were truly gallant. The Avounded were not carried off 
the field. In one regiment I had nine officers killed and wounded 
in nineteen ; I lost four hundred and fifty in five regiments." 

" It was a source of the deepest mortification to General 
Keaent that his services on this occasion seemed entirely unap- 
preciated by his commanding oflicer. When the battle took 
I^lace, General McClellan was far in the rear. The importunity 
of Governor Sprague prevailed on him to go to the front, and 
he arrived in time to witness the gallantry of Hancock, engaged 
far on the right, and who, charging with his whole brigade just 
at dusk, contributed, with the loss of only thirty men, to the final 
victory. The entire Federal loss was two thousand two hundred 
and twenty-eight. Two-thirds of this fell upon Hooker, the 
rest upon Kearny, demonstrating where the real fighting had 
been ; yet, in his first bulletin, General McClellan, though 
informed by his own aid of the facts {so Kearny says), abso- 
lutely failed to mention either Hooker or Kearny, to their 
great and just indignation, for the success at Williamsburg evi- 
dently saved the army. Huddled in confused masses, the artil- 
lery fastened in the mud, the infantry straggling and wading 
through the woods, the cavalry, baggage-wagons, and all the 
paraphernalia of an advance confusedly edging along througli 
miry roads, panic would have been ruin. Scarce any of the 
troops had ever been in action, and, had the enemy been victo- 
rious, a panic would have been almost unavoidable, and Genei'al 
Kearny felt that he had prevented this by the utmost hazard 
of his person. He was not proud of recklessness, but he knew 
that there were times when exposure was essential. " It is 
true," he writes, "that I was fearfully exposed; for whilst the 
entire regiment would be sheltered by logs, I was the only offi- 
cer mounted and quite in view ; the only object aimed at by 
many hardly fifty feet from me.* I could not do otherwise, for 
we had the largest part of the work before us, and very few to 
do it. It was not useless recklessaess ; it saved the day." 

• " With brave Phil alone before me, leading on his men, and dashing destruction along 
the lines, do you know that some rebels, taken prisoners, said they and others were 
ordered to Are, and in every way try to kill that General with one arm, doing bo much 
mischief?"— £'. T7. i., 30<A J/ay, 1862,iV. Y. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 289 

McClellan reached the front just before the battle ended; 
and, as his attention was called exclusively to the operations of 
Hancock, on the extreme right, who had executed a successful 
flank movement, by which he had gained a position that com- 
manded the rebel line, he received the principal commendation ; 
while Hooker and Kearny, who, by downright hard fighting, 
involving the loss of twenty per cent, of their forces present 
and under hot fire, had first held and afterward carried the 
field on the left of the line, were not mentioned at all in the first 
bulletin of the Commanding General. 

"The first time I saw Kearny in the army," writes Brevet 

Brigadier-General C. S. W , " was on Saturday, May 3d, 

1862, about four o'clock p. m. He had just been given Hamil- 
ton's division, and was looking for his command. I told him 
where it lay, and put him on the road. Watts (De Peyster, 
his volunteer aid) was with him at the time. The division was 
then the Third, of the Third Corps ; but soon after, when Firz 
John Porter's division was made the Third, Kearny's division 
was numbered the First, of the Third Corps, 

" On Sunday, May 4th, when Hooker's division moved out to 
support the cavalry, Kearny had already broken camp, and had 
his division massed in the open ground beyond the saw-mill. I 
do not think that he had received any orders at that time, but 
always supposed that he moved his men, on his own responsi- 
bility, into a position whei'e he could use them the instant orders 
did come. 

"The hour at which Kearny's division arrived at the front 
at Williamsburg has always been a disputed point — he claim- 
ing to have been there at least two hours earlier than Hooker 
and I set his arrival.* Whatever the hour was, it was some 

* "'Pray, Captain [Tatlor, of Stuart's Cavalry],' said I, 'where did your men 
[rebels] show any superiority to ours [Union troops ?] ' 

" ' Why, I think in every battle yet fought, and now here [Savage Station], more than 
at Williamsburg. We fought you with our rear guard ; we had no expectation of 
being able to do more than hold you in check until the main body of our forces were 
out of harm's way. Bat when your Generals were so easily checked, this emboldened 
us to hurry back reinforcements and attempt greater things, and I do believe that if we 
had resolved to make a final stand at Williamsburg, we could have bound yon there 
another month, and then the heat and fever would have finished the work we began.' 

" 'Captain,' I replied, 'you know that the battle of Williamsburg was mainly fought 

37 



290 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILTP KEARNY. 

time after the enemy had captured the twci batteries I had out 
beyond the felled timber (slashing). Our t. oops had recovered 
entire possession of the road, along-side of which I had planted 
another battery, and we had repelled two separate attacks of 
the enemy. 

" The last of these had been by a column up the road, and 
had been broken almost solely by the fire of the Fourth New 
York Battery. After the attacking column was broken, detached 
squads from it, and single individuals, worked their Avay i\p 
behind the felled trees on the left of the road, until they were 
able to make it very hot in the battery, had any occasion arisen 
for opening fire. I had made two applications for some infantry, 
to keep these fellows quiet, but got none, our division being 
then aboiit out of ammunition. On going back a third time, I 
found the head of Kearny's division and Kearny himself. On 
repeating my application to him, he at once gave me two com- 
panies of a Michigan regiment. I mention this as a sample of 
the qidchness loith which he took in the state of affairs, and the 
'promptness of his orders to meet them. 

" Before putting his men into position that day, Kearny sent 
most of his staff to the right and left to examine the ground, 
and, leaving the remainder with his orderlies, he rode alone out 
on the road far beyond our skirmish line. I did not see him go 
out, or know that he had gone; so, on perceiving a horseman 
coming in, thought it must be some one from the rebels. Why 
he was not killed then I cannot imagine, as the rebels held the 
whole of the felled timber to the left of the road, but I did not 
see a shot fired at him.* 

by one division — General Hooker's. General Kearnt and Hancock rendered very 
essential aid, but it was almost night when they reached the field. We had not so 
many men in that battle as you had, and ours were all the disadvantages of position, 
intreuchments, and strong earthworlis, and we had to debouch into the fields in your 
front, over a narrow neck of land. You had every advantage that men should ask — the 
storm was drenching and disheartening; onr artillery was eni-nlfed in the mud — yet, 
notwithstanding all these things. General Hooker, with the aid of three or fonr regi- 
rneat"! of General Kearny's, held his position for five hours, until, by a flank movement 
of General Hancock, you were driven' from the field. In the strength of your intrench- 
ments, you ought to have held out against 50,000 men.' "—Chaplain Marks' " Peninsvla 
Campaign,'" page 267. 

* "As soon as possible, however, Keaent and Heintzelman pushed forward his 
support ; and now Kearnt performed one of those brilliant feats which made him the 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, 291 

" When he first came up, General Heintzelman asked him 
if he had not better let General Hooker aid him, as he was a 
stranger to his command ? Kearny replied, ' General, I can 
make men follow me to hell.' 

" Two days after the fight at Williamsburg, I saw Kearny 
cross the plain in front of that town, at a time when a good 
part of his division was scattered over it. I have seen but one 
other general in our army whose presence excited so much 
enthusiasm among the men as was shown for Kearny at that 
time, by the troops he had not been with a week. * * * * 

" So far from being a hap-hazard, dash-ahead man, I saw no 
general who was more cautious on the march, or took more 
pains to know his ground before putting his men into a fight. 

" This, together with the quiet working of his mind when 
under fire (a very rare quality with the bravest men), and his 
inspiriting appearance in a fight, were his most striking quali- 
ties, so far as I noticed them. 

" When in the middle of a battle, his appearance certainly 
filled my beau ideal of a general better than any thing I ever 
saw. It made the blood thrill through one's veins, and would 
inspirit men, if any thing could." 

When the anxiously-awaited succor, brought ujj by Kearny, 
arrived, that General — accompanied by Major, afterward Briga- 
dier-General, Charles S. Wainwright, Division Chief of Artil- 
lery to Hooker, and Thompson, Second Ai-tillery, his 

own Division Chief of Artillery — dashed forward on the road 



model soldier of his division. In order to disclose to his troops the concealed position 
of the enemy, and to exhaust (draw) their fire (like Ridgelet, previous to Mat's 
charge at Resaca de la Palma), he announced his determination to ride in front of the 
enemy's lines. Surrounded by his aids and officers, he dashed out into the open field, 
and, as if on parade, leisurely galloped along the entire front. Five thousand guns 
were pointed at him ; the balls fell around him like hail ; two of his aids dropped dead 
at his side; and before he reached the end he was almost alone. He secured by this 
hazardous exploit what he aimed to accomplish — the uncovering of the enemy's posi- 
tion — then riding back among his men, he shouted, ' Yon see, my boys, where to fire.' 
His forces held their own until Hancock, by a flank movement, compelled the retreat 
of the enemy within their works. 

" All the soldiers and officers of this portion of the army not only spoke of Hooker 
and Kearnt as displaying on that day the most brilliant soldierly qualities, but like- 
wise commended, in the highest terms, the coolness, discrimination and courage of 
General Heintzblman." — Marks • PeniTmilar Campaign,''^ page 157. 



292 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENEEAL ?HILIP KEAKNY. 

leading direct to Fort Magruder, to reconnoitre the positions of 
the enemy. They had advanced some distance beyond their 
own men, when a battalion or more of rebels rose from the 
slashing iu line of battle, and poured volley after volley upon 
them, as fast as they could load and fire, at a distance of not 
over two hundred and fifty yards. As the enemy started up, 
Keaeistt wheeled his horse and galloped back, followed, " the 
devil take the hindmost," by the other two officers. Strange 
to say, although the bullets pattered and hissed around, like 
drops in a tropical storm driven by a fierce wind, not one took 
efiect, except to gouge out a channel in the hoof of Major Wain- 
aveight's horse. 

On this day, Kkaeny had a third narrow escape. He spurred 
into a little cleared space, midway the slashing, and, looking 
round like an eagle In search of prey, shouted out to his own 
men to show themselves and drive the rebels out of their cover. 
Responsive to his appeal, a few Union skirmishers rose on 
their side of the felled timber. They had scarcely made their 
appearance, when a whole rebel line of marksmen jumped to 
their feet from their lairs, and fired simultaneously, with delib- 
erate aim, at the "one-ai-med devil." It was afterward well 
known that in this, and subsequent engagements, the rebel offi- 
cers exhorted their marksmen to take cool and careful aim at 
the " one-armed devil," who seemed to delight in setting them 
at defiance. Keaeny shook his stump at them, as he was wont 
to do when excited, and galloped away unscathed. Not a mis- 
sile touched his person or his horse. 

Thus, the battle of Williamsburg ended in establishing the 
character of the Army of the Potomac, but particularly of 
Heintzelman's (the Third) Corps ; in elevating Keaeny and 
HoOKEE to the first place in the estimation of the American 
free people, as generals and soldiers of the finest type, for 
ability, influence and gallantry ; in winning the concession from 
MoClellan that their troops had gained a complete and glorious 
success ; but, alas ! in nothing further ! no trophies fell into the 
hands of the Union commander ; no results followed the prodigal 
libation of blood and life. When the news arrived of the battle 
fought, the victory won, and the subsequent paralysis through 



BIOGEAPHY OP MAJOR-GENEBAL PHILIP KEARNY. 293 

McClellan, the writer pronounced a judgment, recorded and 
attested, which events justified.* McClellan demonstrated 
himself a failure ; the Stafi* which our Executive and the Nation 
,had selected to prop the cause of the North and guide its armies, 
had proved a Pharaoh's reed. Witness the thousands of vic- 
tims to the camp diseases, to the Chickahominy malaria, the 
thousands wasted in infructuose battles. Phil. Kearny had 
predicted all this ; his predictions were, one by one, verified to 
the letter, in the blood and ashes of our bravest and most pre- 
cious. Two months more and the Union army had been misled 
back — not driven back — to the James ; humiliated through its 
chief — not conquered, or dishonored in itself. Within three 
months it was back whence it started, as had been foretold that 
it would be by more than Phil. Kearny. Let the reader who 
doubts this obtain Emil Schalk's " Summary of the Art of 
War" (J. B. LippiNCOTT & Co., Philadelphia), of which the 
first edition was published about the time of the "Afiair of 
Rivers," or Peninsula campaign Avas definitely resolved upon. 
Examine carefully " Example," pages 25, 33, particularly that 
wonderful map, which, had it not been prepared and issued six 
months before the events it prefigured, culminating in Antietam 
(another battle, indecisive, like Williamsburg, through the like 
fault of the very same supreme commander), would be almost 
an after-delineation, of the flow and ebb of the campaign, April 
— September, 1862. 

That neither Hooker nor Kearny was to blame for the 
result, their voices, their actions, the wounds of the one and 
the death of the other abundantly attest. 

Kearny's troops were the first to enter the abandoned works 
of the rebels, and detachments of Kearny's division were the 
first to advance on the morning after the battle of Williamsburg, 
and friends of the writer, who were engaged there, state that a 
skirmish, of greater or less magnitude, occurred. As no response 
has been made to published calls for infonnation, this fact is 
merely mentioned to show that Kearnt and his ofiicers and 
men were always on the alert, and that if he did not go ahead 
it was no fault of his. 

* See note *, page 63, General DePbyster's " Decnsive Conflicts of the Late Civil 
War, or Slaveholder's Rebellion," No, 1. 



204: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, HEINTZELMAN'S CORPS, I 
Williamsburg, May nth, 1803. f 

Captain : I have the honor to report, that, on receiving orders on the 5th instant, at 
nine a. m., the Division took up its line of march, and shortly after came upon the 
crowded columns before us. 

At tea and three-quarters a. at., an order was received from General Sumneb to pass 
all others and proceed to the support of General Hooker, already engaged. 

V/ith difficulty, and much loss of time, my Division at length made its way through 
the masses of troops and trains that encumbered the deep, muddy, single delile, until, 
at the " Brick Church," my route was to the left. At one and a half p. m., within three 
and a half miles of the battle-field, I halted my column to rest, for the first time, and to 
get the lengthened files in hand before committing them to action. Captain Moses, of 
the General Stafi", with great energy, assisted me in this effort. Almost immediately, 
however, on order from General Heintzelman, our " knapsacks were piled," and the 
head of the column resumed its march, taking the " double quick," wherever the mud- 
holes left a footing. Arrived at one mile from the engagement, you, in person, brought 
me an order to detach three regiments — one from Berry's, the leading Brigade, and two 
from Birnet's, the Second— to support Emory's Horse, to the left of the position. 

Approaching nearer the field, word was brought by an Aid-de-camp that Hooker's 
cartridges were expended ; and with increased rapidity we entered under fire. Having 
quickly consulted with General Hooker, and received General Heintzelman's orders 
as to the point of onset, I at once deployed Berry's Brigade to the left of the Williams- 
burg road, and Birney's on the right of it — taking, to cover the movement, and to 
support the remaining battery, that had ceased to fire, two companies of Poe's Regi- 
ment. 

As our troops came into action, the remnants of the brave men of Hooker's Division 
were passed, and our regiments promptly commenced an unremitting, well-directed 
fire. However, from the lengthening of the files, the gap occasioned by the withdrawal 
from the column of three regiments, and the silence of this battery, I soon was left no 
alternative than to lead forward to the charge the two companies of the Second Michi- 
gan Volunteers, to bear back the enemy's skirmishers, now crowding on our pieces. 
This duty was performed by oflicers and men with superior intrepidity, and enabled 
Major Wainwright, of Hoo'keii's Division, to collect his artillerists and to re-open fire 
from the several pieces. A new support was then collected from the Fifth Jerseys, 
who, terribly decimated previously, again came forward with alacrity. 

The affair was now fully and successfully engaged along our whole line, and the regi- 
ments kept steadily gaining ground — but the heavy strewn timber of the abatiis 
defied all direct approach. 

Introducing, therefore, fresh marksmen from Poe's Regiment, I ordered Colonel 
HoBART Ward, with the Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers (Scott Life-Guard) to 
charge down the road and take the " rifle pits " (in the center of the abattis) by their 
flank. This duty Colonel Wabd performed with great gallantry — his martial demeanor 
imparting all confidence in the attack. Still the wave of impulsion, though nearly suc- 
cessful, did not quite prevail — but with bravery, every point thus gained, was fully 
sustained. The left wing of Colonel Riley's Regiment, the Fortieth New York Volun- 
teers (the Mozarts), was next sent for ; and the Colonel, being valiantly engaged in 
front, came up brilliantly, conducted by Captain Mindil, Chief of General Bikney's 
Staff. These charged up to the open space, and silenced some light artillery, and gain- 
ing the enemy's rear, caused him to relinquish his cover. The victory was ours. About 
this period General Jameson brought up the rear brigade and the detached regiments, 
having previously reported them in the midst of a severe fire. A second line was 
established, and two columns of regiments made disposable for further moves. But 
darkness, with the still drizzly rain, now closed, and the regiments bivouacked on the 
field they had won. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



295 



The reconnoissances during the night and the early patrols of the morning revealed 
the enemy retiring, and General Hkintzelman, in person, ordered into the enemy's 
works (which our pickets of the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania, under Lieuten- 
ant Gilbert, were entering with General jAaiESON) the Fourth Maine Regiment, to 
erect thereon its standard and take possession in full force. 

1 have to mark out for the high commendation of the General-in-Chief, Generals 
Jameson, Birnet and Berrt, whose soldierly judgment was only equalled by their dis- 
tinguished courage. I refer you to their reports to do justice to the names of the gallan t 
officers and men under their immediate command. Having confined myself principally 
to the center, the key of the positions, I report as having conspicuously distinguished 
themselves, imparting victory all around. Colonels Poe, of the Second Michigan Volun- 
teers, and HoBART Ward, of the Thirty-eighth New York. 

Never in any action was the influence of the Staff more perceptible. All were most 
efficient and defiant of danger. I especially notice Captain Smith, A. A. General of 
General Beert, and predict for him a career of usefulness and glory. 

My own Staff were truly my means of vision in this battle in the woods. I have to 
deplore the loss of my Chief-of-Staff, Captain Wilson, who was killed putting in execution 
my desire for a general onset, at the period of the last charge, falling within the enemy's 
lines. Also, Lieutenant Barnard, late of West Point, at the end of the engagement, 
after having previously lost a horse. Captain William E. Sturges, my Aid, was brave, 
active and judicious. Lieutenant Moore, another of my Aids, renewed in this field his 
previous distinction gained abroad. My Volunteer Aid, Mr. Watts De Petbter, bore 
himself handsomely in this his first action. 

I have the honor to append the list of killed and wounded, which, though not impair- 
ing oar future efficiency, was a severe loss for the few engaged. 

Oar batteries were on the field, but were not required, Major Wainwright (Hooilek's 
Division) having, by much personal effort, resumed the fire of several pieces. But Cap- 
tain Thompson, U. S. A., the chief of my Division artillery, in the midst of a hea^•y fire, 
gave me the benefit of his experience. 



Consolidated List of Killed, Wounded and Missing, at the Battle op Wil- 
liamsburg, Va., Mat 5th, 1862. 





officers. 


enlisted men. 




REGIMENT. 




r3 

-a 

3 

O 


.s 


"3 
E-i 


— 

3 


•d 


£ 

B 






[3 




a) 
"1. 

60 
< 


General Kbarnt's Staff 


2 
2 


"7' 

1 

3 
5 

5 

21 





2 
9 

1 
3 
6 

7 

28 










2 


Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers 


9 

5 

17 

28 

21 

80 


61 
23 
35 
110 
65 

394 


10 

"h' 
■'2 

17 

— A 


SO 
28 
5T 
1.38 

88 

391 


8f) 


Fortieth New York Volunteers 


29 


Second Michigan Volunteers 




(iO 


Fifth Michigan Volunteers 


1 
2 

7 


144 


Thirty-seventh New York Volunteers 


95 
419 



(Signed) 
To Chauncet McKebvkb, 



I have, sir, the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, ' 

Your obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, 
Brig.-Geri'l Comtnanding Third Division, Third Corps. 



Capt. and A. J.., GenH EdntzdmarCs Corps, WOliamsburg. 



296 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, HEINTZELMAN'S CORPS, » 
Camp Beret, Barhamsville, Va., May \(>th, 1862. j 

Sm : The events which crowded on us after the battle of the 5th — its stormy night — 
the care of the wounded — the attentions to the slain — the collection of the trophies 
— th& moves of the next day — having prevented my report, embracing the distin- 
guished acts of individuals, not serving in my actual presence, induced me to request 
that the superior authority of the commander of the corps would be employed to use', 
«* tny mvn, the separate reports of those, my brigade commanders, who so ably sus- 
tained my efforts by their gallantry ; and who so amply ftilfllled the high prestige which 
thov had won as Colonels of noble regiments. 

The lists of the Generals of Brigades, comprises the names of the following officers 
and regiments: 

The right of my line consisted of the two regiments of the Second Brigade, General 
BtRNET, the Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers, Colonel J. H. Hobart Ward, and the 
Fortieth New York, Colonel Riley — the other two regiments of this brigade having, a 
mile back, been detached to join General Emory. The Thirty-eighth New York was 
the regiment that, sent for by me, charged down the road, and took the pits and abat- 
tis in flank. Colonel J. H. Hobaet Ward has already been noticed by me, as one of 
the "-bravest of the brave." He reports that, "Lieutenant-Colonel Strong certainly 
deserves mention for his gallantry. It would be unjust to mention any one line olBcer 
iH'fore another, when all behaved so well. This regiment lost one hundred and twenty- 
eight men on the Slst of July last, at Bull Run." This day there were nine officers 
killed and wounded out of nineteen in the regiment that went into action, viz. : 

Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers lost — 

OFPiCBBS khxed: 

CALVIN S. DE WITT Captain Company I. 

WILLIAM SHARP Second Lieutenant Company H. 2 

OFFICERS WOUNDED : 

JAMES E. STRONG Lieutenant-Colonel. 

GEORGE W. DENNETT Captain Company D. 

AUGUSTUS FRINK (Funk?) Captain Company H. 

SAMUEL C. DWYER Captain Company K. 

R. J. IiL\TSON First Lieutenant Company A. 

E. MILLER Second Lieutenant Company B. 

W. SCOTT Second Lieutenant Company A. 1 

Total officers killed and wounded 9 

Enlisted men killed 9 

do do wounded 61 

do do missing 10 

Total loss 89 

Ths Fortieth Regiment, Colenel Riley, performed noble and efficient services. Colo- 
nel RiLBT, with great spirit, held the right wing with half his regiment, after the 
Thirty-eighth and half the Fortieth had been withdrawn to act under my pe7'soiial 
direction. The part of the Fortieth acting on the road against the central pits and 
abattis — charging down the road into the plain, passed beyond the enemy's flank, 
and drove ofl" by their fire several pieces of artillery, brought expressly against them. 

Fortune favored them. Their loss was — 

OFFICERS KILLED : — (None.) 

OFFICERS WOtTNDED: 

E. F. PLJCTCHER Second Lieutenant Company I. 1 

Total officers killed and wounded 1 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 297 

Enlisted men killed 5 

do do wounded Sr, 

Totalloss aa 

The battle on the left of the line was a series of assaults by the enemy, and repulses 
ami outsets by ourselves — the fresh re-inforcements by the enemy, continually teudinij 
to outflank us. General Berry was ever on the alert, and, by good arrangements and 
pursoual example, influenced the ardor of all around him. Ills regiments fought most 
desperately. Their loss attests it. It acted p'artly in the woods to the left of the road, 
and partly in carrying the abattis. 

It was one of them, Colonel Poe's Second Michigan, more directly under my control, 
which maintained the key point of our position. 

Two of its companies led ofl' with the first success of the day, whilst covering the 
artillery. 

Colonel PoB had already won a reputation in Western Virginia. He was a distin- 
tinguished officer in the TJ. S. Army before taking command of this regiment. 

I especially notice him for advancement. His talents, his bravery, his past services 
merit it. His loss was — 

orFicEKs KILLED : — (None.) 

OFFICERS WOUNDED : 

W. R. MORSE Captain Company F. 

WM. B. McCRURY Captain Company G. 

ROBERT D. JOHNSON Second Lieutenant Company A. 3 

Total officers killed and wounded ^i 

Enlisted men killed 17 

do do wounded 35 

do do missing 5 

Total killed, wounded and missing 60 

The principal loss on the left of the other two regiments (the fourth of the brigade, 
Third Michigan, Colonel Champlain, having been detached with General Emort), 
serving more immediately under the eye of General Berry, was very severe. Colonel 
Hatjian, commanding the Thirty-seventh New York, on the extreme left, was charged 
with guarding against the enemy's turning our left flank. This duty required vigilance 
and pertinacity. This regiment lost — 

OFFICERS killed: 

PATRICK H. HAYES First Lieutenant Company G. 

JEREMIAH O'LBARY First Lieutenant Company F. 2 

officers wounded: 

JAMES F. MAGUIRE Captain Company B. 

WILLIAM H. DE LACY Captain Company K. 

JOHN MASSY Second Lieutenant Company G. 

EDWARD N. BROWN Second Lieutenant Company C. 

JAMES SMITH.... Second Lieutenant Company P. 5 

Total officers killed and wounded 7 

Enlisted men killed , 21 

do do wounded 65 

do do missing 2 

Total loss 95 

38 



29 S BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

c.olonel Terry, commanding the Third Michigan,* was principally engaged in carr}-- 
.ng rifle pits (a redoubt) in the woods. His loss is the highest on the list of killed and 
wounded, and comprises — 

OFFICERS KILLED : J 

JAMES A. GUNNING Second Lieutenant Company C. 1 

OFFICERS wounded: 

HENRY D. TERRY Colonel. 

SAMUEL E. BEACH Lieutenant-Colonel. 

EDWARD J. SHURLOCK Captain Company A. 

BERBER LE FAVOUR Captain Company F. 

WM. R. TILLOTSON Second Lieutenant Company H. 5 

Total officers killed and wounded 6 

Enlisted men killed 28 

do do wounded HO 

Total loss 144 

In closing this supplementary Report on the location and merits of individuals and 
regiments, it is proper to include, although not attached to my command. General Gro- 
VEK, who, with an untiring courage, whilst most of his men, having been relieved by 
our arrival, were taking the merited respite after their long hours of severe fighting, 
still brought up into line, alongside of us, several hundred volunteers, who followed 
his example, encouraging them to the fight. 

This report would also be incomplete did I fail to mention the meritorious services 
of our Medical Corps. They were everywhere, under the greatest obstacles, efficiently 
aiding the wounded and establishing ambulances. One of them. Dr. J. H. Baxter, 
one of Acting Surgeon-General Tripler's Stafl', Medical Inspector of Field Ambulances, 
assisted me greatly during the action by carrying orders. 

Sir, with the trust that the division has done its duty, and fulfilled your expectations, 
I have the honor to be most respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, 
Brigadier- General Commanding Division. 
To Captain Chaunct McKkbvee. 

* LETTER OF KEARNY IN REGARD TO HIS MICHIGAN TROOPS. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, HEINTZLEMAN'S CORPS, > 
Camp Berrt, Bakkhamsvtlle, Va., May IQth, 1862. ) 

To his Excellency Austin Blair, Ckmemor of Michigan : 

Sir — It gives me great pleasure to address you, in order to bring to your immediate 
notice the noble and brave manner with which the troops of your State, in my Divi- 
sion conducted themselves in the engagement before WDliamsbnrg on the 5th instant. 
The Second, under Colonel Poe, and the Fifth, under Colonel Terrt, behaved in the 
most handsome manner. I have the honor to transmit, herewith, the report of the 
colonels of those regiments, together with that of their general. General Berrt, com- 
manding the brigade, and also a copy of the one sent in by myself to General Head- 
qtiarters. I also send you a list of the killed and wounded. Colonel Poe served more 
immediately under my own command, and the gallantry and soldierly qualities he dis- 
played rendered him particularly conspicuous. Colonel Terry's Regiment took a rifle 
pit of much strength, after a severe contest, and held possession until the close of the 

action. 

Very respectfully, 

PHIUP KEARNY. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

EXEMPLI GRATIA. 

" Let his great example stand 

Colossal, * * * 

And keep the soldiers firm." 

Tennyson's " Ode to Wellington." 

" No age hath been, since nature first began 

To work Jove's wonders, but hath left behind 

Some deeds of praise for mirrors unto man, 

Which, more than dreadful laws, have men inclined 

To tread the paths of praise, excite the mind ; 

Mirrors the thoughts to virtue's due respects : 

Example hastens deeds to good efi"ects." 

^ ^ , Davenant. 

Lancelot, the flower of bravery, 

* * ■* the chief of knights." 

Tenny soil's "■Elaine.'" 
" Von des Lebens Giitern alien 

1st der Ruhm das hOchste doch 1 
Wenn der Leib in Staub zerfallen 
Lebt ter grosse Name noch." 
" A more fearless man probably never lived." 

Abbott's ''History of the Civil War in America" 11, 49. 

" Foresee and provide, are two words which the general should have present in his 
thoughts throughout every moment of his term of command."— Marshal Biron, 
" Ecricains MUiiaires." 

When that master of logical persuasion and common-sense 
conception of the direct road to the human heart appealed to 
his recruits to remember that they were examples, one of his 
strongest arguments to induce them to shine as such was, that 
they were " compassed about with so great a cloud of wit- 
nesses." Who so surrounded by observers as the leader of an 
army ? Every soldier, every officer must look to him, and grad- 
ually his greatness or his littleness will influence the mass. If 
he is slow, want of energy leavens the whole organization ; and 
it is hardly unjust to say, that the lethargy of the winter of 
1861-2 afiected the Army of the Potomac, until Grant and 
Sheridan came and exorcised the direst enemy to great achieve- 
ments in arms. How different was it in the First Brigade and 
the First Division Kearny commanded? It would be unjust 
to claim, and still harder to prove, that the noble spirits who 
emulated his example owed any of their personal rugged gran- 



300 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

deur to him ; but it is not unjust to say, and it is not difficult to 
believe, that, being by nature susceptible of great things, in his 
light, they kindled into greater brillancy. 

" Example is a living law, whose Fway i 

Men more than all the written laws obey." 

The all-glorious sun, as it burns in heaven, does not jjroduce 
rival suns; but does not its light and heat impart brilliancy 
and existence to creations almost as glorious and exquisite, 
though in other forms ? And even so Kearny's " magnificent," 
" knightly," " brilliant " example of soldiership inflamed all who 
followed him ; and in, and through the constellated radiance of 
his own deeds and those which had their origin in his inspira- 
tion, no wonder, as De Tbobriand says, he became a legendary 
hero, invested with a thousand memories in the bivouacs of the 
Army of the Potomac. "Like begets like," is a proverbial 
expression, and certainly those who held prominent positions 
under Kearny lived and died and must always shine as types 
of good and gallant volunteer commanders, even as he was the 
"type volunteer general of the war." Nay, more, the New 
Jersey Brigade, which he made, to the last shone as a brilliant 
unit, a jewel of the first water, with the combined luster forti- 
tude, bravery and discipline. To enter into a demonstration of 
this claim for his whole command, would be to block out a vol- 
ume, and not a chapter. The problem can be proved by a few 
striking examples, as well as by many, if they all fulfill the 
same conditions and every requisite condition. 

The reader has seen Kearny's promptness on more than one 
occasion. At the first sound of alarm, he abandoned every thing 
and traversed three thousand miles of sea to ofier his sword to 
his country. Within twenty-four hours after his appointment, 
he was at the head of his brigade. He held the forlorn hope, 
or advanced post almost of our organizing great army of the 
war, without support, in the teeth of a victorious foe. He was 
the first into Mannassas, on the heels of the withdrawing rebels ; 
and he, the rearmost in the movement, through " an ocean of 
mud," was the first to throw himself, like an aegis, before 
Hooker, and save the first fiiir stand-up fight, of many hours' 
duration, perseveringly contested, east of the AUeghanies. 



I 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 301 

Reader, after studying his own, follow up the records of his 
subordinates, and consider whether such an example, never fal- 
tering or paling, but ever growing huger and brighter, must not 
have had its effect. " By their fruits ye shall know them." 

George W. Taylor, of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, 
sailor, farmer, soldier, miner, and again soldier, commanded the 
Third Regiment from that State, in Kearny's First Brigade, 
and succeeded him in its command. Under the most trying 
circumstances — for Kearny declared that his old Brigade was 
sacrificed — Taylor never flinched, but always, everywhere, 
displayed " the most indomitable courage." At Bull Run 
Bridge, August 27th, 1862, his brigade was made to confront 
the " entire corps of Stonewall Jackson," and, as might 
readily be imagined, under such circumstances, was compelled 
to fall back with severe loss. Himself severely wounded, in 
marshalling his command and setting an example of honorable 
leadership, he was carried back to Alexandria, and on the very 
day, September 1st, 18G2, that Kearny breathed his last at 
Chantilly, Taylor gave up his gallant spirit, another type volun- 
teer general. 

The Brigadier who commanded the First Bi'igade of Kear- 
ny's division was Charles Davis Jameson, a lumberman, born 
in Gorh am, Maine. This enterprising officer, as "General of 
the Trenches," showed the way into the rebel works at York- 
town. Inflamed by the example of his superior, Kearny (at 
Manassas, on March 9th, 10th and 11th, 1862), at two a. m. on 
Sunday morning. May 4th, he led forward detachments of the 
Sixty-second Pennsylvania, Colonel Sam. Black, of the Twenty- 
second Massachusetts, Colonel Gove, of the Thirteenth New 
York, Captain Boughton, deployed as skirmishers, and clam- 
bered over the parapets of Yoi'ktown. General Jameson and 
Colonel Black were the first two men in, and unfurled the 
stars and stripes on the " great water-angle." In like manner, 
about an hour after midnight succeeding the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, the " eagle-eyed " Jameson, with a picket of one 
hundred and twelve men of the One Hundred and Fifth Penn- 
sylvania, one of Kearny's and his own regiments, took possess- 
sion of Fort Magruder, and again this general was the first to 



302 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

enter tlie rebel fortifications. Continuing to display the same 
energy and intrepidity, Jamesox fell a victim to the Chicka- 
horainy fever. He continued in command up to June 13th, 1862, 
and died, in the fullness of his glory, at Oldtown, above Bangor, 
Maine, November 6th, 1862, another type volunteer general. 

The next who claims attention in this consideration is David 
Bell Birnby, born in Huntsville, ALabama, who, either as a 
merchant in Michigan, as a lawj'^er or banker, or botli, in Phila- 
delphia, certainly enjoyed none of the ' advantages generally 
supposed to be indispensable to the formation of a general. 
Nevertheless, he showed himself an apt scholar, and after his 
distinguished coming out of Williamsburg, never falsified the 
opinion entertained of him by Kearny, as an extremely reliable 
and accomplished soldier. It has been claimed for him by his 
admirers, that he was the best volunteer general in the strictest 
sense of the word, after Kearny, developed by the war; and, 

as an ear-witness (Brevet Major W B ) reports, Weix- 

ZEL, a capital judge, said '' Birney handled infantry like 
magic." Be this as it may, be certainly showed first-class 
ability throughout his career of four years ; and when Sickles 
— another first-rate, and a type volunteer general — lost his leg 
at Gettysburg, Birney displayed all the attributes of a brave 
soldier and worthy commander, and did as much as any man 
could do to frustrate the efibrts of Longstreet, and checkmate 
the turning plan of Lee. He continued to occupy a high posi- 
tion and well-earned distinction down to 1865, when, seized with 
typhoid, or Chickahominy fever, the same which had destroyed 
Jameson, he relinquished the saddle only to return home to die. 
Like those previously cited, he laid down his life for liis country 
in Philadelphia, leaving a noble record, another type volunteer 
general. 

The next in order was Hiram George Berry, a native of 
Thomaston (now Rockland), Maine. Born a poor boy, and bred 
a carpenter, he worked himself up to tlie Mayoralty of his 
native city and the command of a division. Always reliable, 
always a grand specimen of a natural born soldier, his brigade 
was the first which, under Kearny, brought relief to Hooker. 
He distinguished himself in almost every battle in 1862, and fell 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 303 

at Chancellovsville, crowned with glory. In this battle lie executed 
a real triumphant bayonet-charge,* one which does not merely 

* " The British Soldier, an Anecdotal History of the Britisli Army," by. J. H. Stoc- 
QiTELEii, Loudon, Amen Corner, 1847. Bayonet Charges, pp. 132-5. " If there is one sub- 
ject upon ^vhlch, more than another, writers have perpetuated the crudest notions, and 
upon which tlie most erroneous ideas are still widely entertained, it is that of the bayo- 
net cnsTRG^soflinesof infantry. The relations of modern canipaia:ns abound, it is true, 
with accounts of ' splendid bayonet charges ; ' but did the reader ever come to a detail 
of the conflict — of the actuality and ita material results? After the 'War of the 
Spanish Succession' and the Battle of Spires, the infantry of all European nations lost 
the taste for close conliict, and the bayonet appears everywhere more threatening than 
murderous. The Wars of the Eighteenth Century, with their improved fire tactics, 
exhibit no more the steady old practice of former days. Matter.* began then to termi- 
nate at the very moment which had previously been their commencement only. In the 
War of 1700, Polard says, ' it was not attempted to engage hand-to-hand, not even on 
the most favorable ground, although the Tukennes and the Coxdes had never fought 
otherwise.' He assures ua, moreover, 'that the old officers were quite beside them- 
selves to see the decline of that good old custom.' Charles XII tried in vain to dis- 
suade his Swedes from firing, and to give them a relish for falling to at once with the 
bayonet. Marshal Saxe, after describing the tactics of his day, and informing us in 
what manner battles were opened, suddenly inquires, ' And what happens then ? Why, 
both sides begin to fire, which is a misery to behold. At length they advance upon 
each other, and. generally at fifty or sixty paces, more or less, one or the other breaks 
and runs. Do you call that attacking ? ' 

'■ What says Berenhorst on the subject ? — ' Your fabrications of military relations 
make it appear that all great actions are performed with the baj'onet ; every one is 
threatened with the bayonet ; generals command the charge with the bayonet. But, in 
2)etto, it is taken for granted beforehand, that the opposite party will not wait for it.' 
In another place, he says : ' For him n'ho has the right notion of this evolution, bayo- 
net charges are mainly a figure of rhetoric, line maniere de parler, which means nothing 
more than one party runs on smartly, and the other leaves the field to him.' Hear, 
further, Jomini, in his ' Critical and Military History,' whose opinion is also, that 
bayonet attacks take place mostly in relations. The Arch-Duke Charles, no mean 
authority, says, in his ' Campaign of 1799 ' : • Physical strength decides but seldom, 
even in the greatest battles.' So weighty a word may be considered as expressing 
pretty closely the real shape of the thing ; and Hoyer states his conviction, that there 
are but few or no examples that the bayonet has been really resorted to in good earnest. 
It will scarcely be necessary to cite many examples in proof of the justice of the 
opinions of siich authorities. Our own wars, in Egypt and in Spain, illustrate their 
truth. At Alexandria, in 1801, 'the splendid bayonet charge' of our gallant Twent}'- 
sixth Regiment was not ' waited for ' by the French, when they were seen coming 
down through the smoke of their last volley. In the action near Pampeluna, already 
referred to, the French columns refused to stop for it. At Talavera it was not ' the 
weight of the charge ' of the first battalion, of the gallant Forty-eighth, that saved 
the brigade of Guards from destruction when they had advanced too far — their well- 
directed fire and timely advance were quite sufficient. Here and there, in a century, 
an individual instance of real crossing of bayonets wears more the character of an 
anomaly, or a remarkable deviation from the rule. The tour de force, yvhich. so much 
gratified the heart of the Great Frederick at Lowositz (173G), when the two battalions 
of Bevern and that of Billerbeck, denuded of cartridges, after a defense of five hours 
fire of the Prussian left flank, crossed bayonets with the Austrian Croats and Grena- 
diers, and pricked them into the town of Lowositz, found few or no subsequent imita- 



304 BIOGRAPHY OF'MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

demonstrate against a routed foe with cold steel, but overthroAvs 
him by it. To tire a volley at close quarters, which sweeps the 
field, and then run in upon a flying enemy, who suffer a few 

tors. A solitary, but meagre attempt is seen at Gross-Beeren in 1813, when Lieutenant- 
General Sahr, commanding the Saxons, attached to Regnier's Seventh French Corps, 
to protect the retreat of his division, led the Saxon Regiment, Von Low, with fixed 
b.'ij'onets (their muskets had been spoiled by the rain), against the nearest advancing 
Prussian column. And how did that come otf? Both parties halted suddenly, and 
eimultancously, at a few paces from each other — looked each other for a few moments, 
hesitatingly, in the face, before they would fall on, in obedience to the call of their 
officers. The conflict, chiefly with the butt-end of the musket, lasted but a few mo- 
ments — General Sahr did receive, himself, three bayonet wounds ; few others were 
given or received, and the Saxons broke. 

" An excellant authority on the subject, not quoted in the foregoing, is the late Mr. 
Guthrie, the celebrated army surgeon, who was with the army from Rosica to Water- 
loo. ' A great delusion,' says Mr. Guthrie, ' is cherished in Great Britiau on the sub- 
ject of the bayonet — a sort of monomania, very gratifying to the national vanity, but 
not quite in accordance with matter of fact. Opposing regiments, when formed in 
line, and charging with fixed bayonets, never meet and struggle hand-to-hand and fuot- 
to-foot; and tliis for the very best possible reason, that one side turns round and runs 
away as soon as the other side comes close enough to do mischief; doubtless consider- 
ing that ' discretion is the better part of valor.' Small parties of men may have per- 
gonal conflicts after an aff'air has been decided, or in the subsequent scufile, if they 
cannot get out of the way fast enough. 'J he battle of Maida is usually referred to as a 
remarkable instance of a bayonet fight ; nevertheless, the suff'erers, whether killed or 
•wounded, French or English, sufl'ered from bullets, not bayonets. Wounds from bayo- 
nets were not less rare in the Peninsular War. It may be, that all those who were 
bayoneted were killed ; yet their bodies were seldom found. A certain fighting regi- 
ment had the misfortune, one very misty morning, to have a large number of men car- 
ried ofl' by a charge of Polish Lancers, many being also killed. The commanding olBcer 
concluded they must all be killed, for his men possessed exactly the same spirit as a 
part of the Frence Imperial Guard at Waterloo — ' they might be killed, but they could 
not by any possibility be taken prisoners.' He returned them all dead, accordingly. 
A few days afterward they re-appeared, to the astonishment of every body, having been 
Bwept off" by the cavalry, and had made their escape in the retreat of the French army 
through the woods. The regiment from that day obtained the ludicrous name of the 
' Resurrection Men.' " 

Mitchell's " Fall of Napoleon,"' 11, 123 or 173. " It is remarkable that the only tacti- 
cal regulation, or novelty, ever introduced into the French army during the warlike 
reign of Napoleon, should be dated from Diiben (just before the catastrophe of Leip- 
sic). The science of the tactics — using the word in its proper sense — had either 
attained to the highest perfection before his time, or he wanted the ability to improve 
it, even by a single step. On the 13th of the month, the Major-Gcneral is desired to 
circulate the following order : ' Issue a general order directing, that, from this date, the 
infantry are to form only two deep, his Majesty haying observed that no effect is pro- 
duced either by the fire or by the bayonets of the third rank,' etc. It was rather late, 
perhaps, to make this important tactical discovery, and it would be interesting to know- 
when his Majesty ever saw any effects produced by the bayonets either of the first or 
second rank; for the world has yet to learn that these boasted military weapons were 
ever used in fair and manly combat. The overvchelming disaster which befel the 
French army ia the plains of Leipsic, and of which we have now to speak, will help to 
show how far Napoleon's strategical skill exceeded his tactical knowledge." 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 305 

pvotls and escape (" three resolute rebels who stood to receive 
tlie bayonets," says Burns, in his Battle of WilUanisburg, page 
48, "were stricken down by the bayonet in Hancock's move- 
ment on our right in that conflict "), is not the grand blow which 
Jessup gave the veteran British at Bridgewater, when he came 
up at the crisis of the day, arms port, then fired, and the two 
lines crossed steel, parried, thrust and slew, until Riall's old 
and tried soldiers broke, sullenly retired, and yielded general, 
field and victory. On May 3d, 1863, when the Eleventh Corps 
had given way on the right of Chancellorsville, broken and 
driven by the furious practical strategy of Stonewall Jack- 
son, Hooker selected Berry's division, formerly his own, to 
stem the seemingly irresistible flood. " Go in General," said 
fighting Joe, " throw your men into the breach ; don't fire a 
shot — they can't see you — but charge home with the bayonet." 
Berry's boys did charge home, and held, for three hours, all 
their bayonets so boldly won. The next day the struggle was 
renewed, and the brunt fell again upon Berry, who, again and 
again, headed the charge of his division, and, first to meet the 
foe, received a bullet which ended his grand career. Thus, in 
the arras of victory, as far as his division was concerned, Berry 
fell and died, another one of the purest and noblest of tlie type 
volunteer generals of our war — a finer West Point never has 
produced. 

The lust to whom any sjDace can be given in this chapter is 
bold Tom Egan, of New York (Brevet Major-General at the 
close of the war), always ready, always efiicient, and always 
successful where the result depended on gallant leading. After 
Kearny" fell at Chantilly, September 1st, 1862, Egan, with the 
First, Thirty-eighth and Fortieth New York, all belonging to 
Kearny's division, executed a brilliant charge, which gave us 
the possession of the contested field, and had it been known 
that Kearnt had fallen (he was supposed to have. been taken 
prisonei*), he would have recovered the remains of the hero, 
and guarded it from desecration. 

This list might be enlarged greatly, but it is an episode in a 
biography of Kearny, and out of place there, except so far as it 
goes to show that his example found or brought out noble imitators. 

39 



306 BIOGEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Can West Point out-toi) six such volunteer generals in ono 
command, generals who owed nothing to professional sway 
within the academic halls, or to drill upon that plain, sun- 
scorched in the dog-days, and wind-swept, like an Arctic steppe, 
in. winter, trying out the weak and strengthening the strong to 
bear the honors and emoluments reserved to caste and gradu- 
ating at the Point ? 

"Was merchant or trader Sir William Pepperell, the cap- 
turer of Louisburg, the strongest fortress in America ; or Indian 
agent Sir William Johnson, the hero of Ticonderoga and real 
conqueror of Dieskau (a selection of Marshal Count Saxe), 
and capturer of Niagara ; or surveyor and planter Washington, 
whose master strokes, the surprise at Trenton — " to America 
what Thermopylae was to Greece " — and the blow at Trenton, 
which excelled it — " events sufficient," says Von Bulow, " to 
elevate a general to the temple of immortality " — a puj^il of any 
military academy ? No ! Was gentleman-farmer Schuyler. 
who paralyzed Burgotne and saved Fort Stanwix ; or black- 
smith-farmer-Quaker Greene, the deliverer of the Southern 
colonies from British tyi'anny ; or surveyor Wayne, the cap 
turer of Stony Point ; or lawyer and militiaman Sullivan ; or 
sailor and farmer " Swamp Fox " Marion, who received little 
education, and " made no figure " in the Congress of his State ; 
or clerk and scrivener Williams ; or Sumter, of whom little 
was known until he appeared as a lieutenant-colonel of riflemen ; 
or hold-fast Moultrie (like Crawford, of Cedar Mountain and 
Gettysburg), educated a physician ; or heroic Mercer, a Scotch 
emigrant boy, the hero-martyr of Princeton ; or intrepid 
Morgan, a teamster and farmer; or Knox, or Willet, or 
Lamb ; — was either of these Revolutionary generals a gradu- 
ate of an embryo West Point? No, no! Was lawyer and 
planter Jackson, who saved New Orleans; or lawyer Scott, 
the hero of two wars ; or clerk Worth ; or militiaman Brown, 
the grand figure of the war of 1812 on the " Lines ;" or Taylor, 
the winner of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, the capturer of 
Monterey, and glorious conqueror of Buena Vista ; or Wool ; 
or Jessup ; or Gaines ; or Harrison ; or " light-house" artillery 
TowsoN ; or Persifer F. Smith ; or Stephen Watts Kearny, 



BIOGRAPHY or MAJOR-GENERAIi PHILIP KEARNY. 307 

the maker of our First Dragoons, as fine a regiment as ever 
paraded man and horse for inspection, the conquerer of New 
Mexico and California; or Phil. Kearxt, " hero, j^atriot and 
martyr " — was either a graduate of West Point or any military 
school ? No, no, no ! 

Would that the same pains and the immense labor which has 
been bestowed in collecting the statements of services performed 
by West Pointers had been devoted to civilian appointments to 
military commands since our country has had an army ! The 
writer does not think that the people would blush at the com- 
parative columns, had every minor duty, well done, been cred- 
ited to the Volunteer as it has been to the graduate of West 
Point. Such a task requires health and time, which the writer 
has not been able to give, and cannot concede ; otherwise it 
would have been, or be, a real labor of love, to which he has 
been invited by one of the most distinguished men of our 
country. 

This chapter may be construed into a depreciation of educa- 
tion. Not so ! Education, without bigotry, is beneficial in 
every profession, in some professions indispensable. But it 
should not be so imbued Avith prejudices as to constitute a bar 
to uneducated genius or sound judgment capable of making up, 
by God's especial gifts, for the want of experience and lack of 
technical education. The Procrustean bed of such an institute 
as West Point would reduce every thing to its own formulated 
dimensitDus — a process which is the hereditary foe of originality, 
and allows nothing not its own to be great, until compelled to 
do so by public opinion, or by the uncontrollable greatness of 
the thing itself Several West Points, or the infusion of the 
military element into all our universities and colleges, with sus- 
ceptibility of subsequent entry therefrom, after competition, into 
the regular service, would remedy the evil, since one would be 
jealous of the other, and thus, through this division of senti- 
ment, outsiders would once in a while get their own — that is, 
the opportunity and credit due them. The abolition of all 
monopolies will come through time and the common sense of 
the people. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE PENIJ^SULAR CAMPAIGN". 

WILLIAMSBURG TO MALVERN HILL, 
( No. 1. ) 
SEVEN PINES AND FAIR OAKS. 
" And how, in thunder, day by day. 
The hot sky hanging over all 
Beneath that sullen lurid pall, 
The Week of Battles rolled away t 
" Give me my legions ! so, in grief, 
Like him of Rome, our father cried, 
(A Nation's Flower lay down and died 
In you fell shade !) ah, hapless chief. 

" Too late we learned thy Star ! o'erta'en 
(Of error or of fote o'erharsh) 
Like Varus, in the fatal marsh 
Where skill and valor all were vain 1 
" All vain— Fair Oaks and Seven Pines I 
A deeper hue than dying Pall 
May lend is yours ! yet over all 
The mild Virginian autumn shines." 

Brownell's " The Battle Summers." 
"Invasion succeeds by celerity ; defence is sustained by delay." — O'Conor's " Jf^i- 
tary ITidory of the Irish Nation, page lOfJ." 

" But though the (Anglo-Dutch) besiegers had crossed the river (Shannon), and erected 
a fort to secure their new position, this division of their army into two bodies, con- 
nected by a temporary bridge made their situation extremely perilous. The portion on 
the right bank of the river might be overwhelmed before it could receive succor from 
the left, and vice versa. A council of war on the 17th, decided that the seigc should be 
turned into a blockade ^ that the resources of the garrison should be cut off,- and a sur- 
render expected from famine."— O'Conor's '■'Military Jlistm-y of the Irish Nation.''' 172. 

" Meantime the Carlists, made aware of his (Espaetero's) inactivity, performed an 
exploit that deserves to rank, both in conception and execution, among the most bril- 
liant of military achievements." * * (Esparteko had dislocated his command iu 
March, 1837, retaining 40.000 men, giving 14,000 to General Evans, of the British Legion, 
and 15,000 to General Irrorap.ren.) " Very heavy rain fell (as at Fair Oftks) during 
that day and the following, rendering the ground in the Loyola very heavy for artillery 
and cavalry, and even difficult for infantry. The ground about Loyola is at most times 
swampj'. * * The Carlists having thus disposed of Irrobarren (dislocated), fell on 
the Legion while Espartero ' remained inactive, leaving it to General Evans and 
Irkobajiren to fight it out.' * * As regards the exploits of the Carlists in this afi'air, 
it is impossible to concede too much praise to them. That their opponents committed 
many and grave errors in no way detracts from the merit due to them. To sieze iqxm 
an opportwiity afforded by the error of your adversary, is one of the highest attributes 
of generalship. To join to quickness of perception, promptitude of decision and 
rapidity of execution, is given only to great leaders whose qualities of command are 
inbmfi. T?iese things cannot be taught in schools.'" Henderson's, '■'Soldier of Three 
Queens,'" U, 1. 13-24. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHIXIP KEARNY. 309 

" It is in time of difficulty that great men and great nations display all the energy of 
their character and become an object of admiration to posterity." — Maxims of Na 

POLEON. 

" Then Nestor thus to Agamemnon said, 
No longer must our Business be delay'd, 
What JoTE hath hinted, what God puts us on, 
Must both with Speed and Cheerfulness be done. 

" It is an Old Military Maxim, * * * >to husband Time,' * * * 
no loss being so costly and irreparable as to lose an opportunity : whence Alexandeb, 
being asked how he achieved so great things in so short a time, answered, * * * 
' dy not delaying: " Ogllbt's " Ernner's Iliad^^ 1660. 

" since dangerous are Delaies." 

Ogilbt's '■'■Homer's Odysses" 1660. 
" In military operations Time is everything."— WEuaNQTON, 80th June, 1800. 

It is so diiBcult to treat of the Peninsula Campaign, and avoid 
the absokite necessity of criticisms at every ste^, that, beyond 
an analytical review, the present work will be restricted, as far 
as possible, to Kearny's Reports and Correspondence. 

In order to comprehend this campaign thoroughly, an accu- 
rate map, on a large scale, is indispensable. Furnished with 
such a one, any reader, interested in military subjects, who will 
take the trouble to study the country about Richmond, and 
acquaint himself in regard to the geodesical features of it, will 
comprehend at once that McClellan proved himself a very in- 
ferior general. Afterward, if he will take the additional trouble 
to examine and compare the campaigns in which Keaent par- 
ticipated under Marshal Valee, General Scott, and Louis 
Napoleon, he will understand at once that Kearny, with his 
natural advantages and experiences, and capacity of practical 
application of both, must have been more fit to lead than to 
be led.* 

If he still doubts, let him read Kearny's correspo.ndence in 
regard to these events, and then if his mind is free from pre- 
judice he will at once appreciate the superiority of the subor- 
dinate and the inferiority of the commander. McClellan 
looked upon an engagement (Williamsburg) which lasted all 
day, as " a little matter;" when Kearny from the first felt that 
Hooker must have the whole rebel rear guard on his hands. 
After the battle, when glory was to be made of it for himself 

* For Keabnt's prescience before Williamsburg, see " Quatre auB de Campagues a 
I'Armee du Potomac," by Major-General Regis de Tbobeiand, 1,193. 



310 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and friends, McClellan reported a " victory " as " a hard 
fought action," a " brilliant engagement" against an enemy con- 
siderably superior in force to his army. 

On sound military principles, Johnston should not have 
fought at all at Williamsburg, because, if the expedition to 
.West Point had been despatched and carried out with energy, 
the rebels would have been caught, as Frederic expressed it, 
" all unbuttoned," or, as Napoleon woi'ded it, '■'•flagrante de- 
licto^'' in the very commission of the act of folly or crime. 

It might be urged, in justification of Johnston, that he had 
studied and comprehended McClellan. This, however, is an 
after thought, for McClellan did not exhibit himself in all tlie 
vividness of his true colors until after Williamsburg.* There 
it was that he demonstrated that he had no idea of the com- 
bined or relative force of the elements indispensable to the 
solution of military problems. Few generals who have been 
called to important commands, have ever shown so little per- 
ception of the inestimable value of the most important element 
of success in war — Time. "In War, faults may be remedied, 
but not those of Time." " The only antidote to the poison of 
liis false strategy in operating on the Peninsula at all was, 
rapidity of movement and dash. In this case time, therefore, 
was everything^ and he maneuvered as if it was nothing^ 

*It was McClellan's inertia, over-cautions, over-estimate of his adver8ar3''8 forces, 
nnder-estimate of his own and their capabilities ; his want of comprehension of time, 
place and circumstances, their individual, correlative and united force, which induced 
the writer to predict the failure of the Peninsular Summer campaign of 1862, alluded \o 
in the following letter. The truth of the prediction was realized within seven weeks 
by the result : 

New York, October 10, 1862. 
James H. Woods, Esq. : 

Dear Sir -At your request I recall to mind a conversation held in your ofBce with 
General J. W. de Petster, immediately after the battle of Williamsburg on the Penin- 
enla. In that conversation the General advanced his opinion, given in a military point 
of view, that, notwithstanding the successful issue of the battle, still General McClellan 
would be obliged to evacuate the Peninsula. Several gentlemen present, you among 
the number, combated the opinion, and rather ridiculed the idea. The General, on 
turning to go out, said, in a most decided and emphatic manner, as near as I now recall 
his language : " Gentlemen, you may laugh at my opinion, you may congratulate your- 
selves upon the victory, but, mark my words, General McClellan will be compelled to 

evaluate the Peninsula." Yours truly, 

R. P. B . 

[See DE Petster's " Decisive Ckmflicts. No. 1, The Maryland Campaign of September, 
1863." Pages 61-4, etc.] 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 311 

After the battle of Williamsburg,* all that McClellan had 
to do to win "jDauic stricken " Richmond, Avas to obey the pre- 
cepts of Marshal Saxe, which Frederic exemplified throughout 
his whole career subsequent to his lesson- at Mollwitz — which 
was to the Prussian army what Williamsburg was to the Army 
of the Potomac — but most notably after Leuthen or Lissa (the 
modern battle of which Leuctra and Mr^ntinea were parallels in 
antiquity) ; and by Napoleon, before he became obese in body 
and mind ; press forward, with the point of the sword in the 
back of the retreating foe, and enter his capital or stronghold 
with his " handsomely " beaten and discouraged troops. Such 
action would have carried our line of advance through the 
healthy uplands along the James, and preserved for the country, 
if nothing more, those tens of thousands heroic men who fell 
victims to the malaria of the bottom lands in which McClellan 
mired and stifled them and buried his own prospects. 

The result demonstrated Kearny's wisdom when he desired 
to make Norfolk the base, and the south side of the James the 
line of operations — after the Peninsula campaign was inevita- 
ble — and in case that McClellan was allowed to imitate (since 
he did not seem capable of originating) the disembarkation of 
the Allies in the Crimea, in 1854. McClellan's plan failed 
from the same lack of energy that characterized every operation 
which he undertook. A visit to the Crimea was all that he had 
ever seen of war on a large scale, and all the impression which 
that seems to have made upon his mind was, the scientific 
lethargy of the long-drawn-out engineering of the siege. It 
appeared as if fate had now detei*mined that this lethargy 
should not only be imitated but exceeded. 

On the 5th May, KUarny saved the battle of Williamsburg. 
From that date until the 27th, McClellan wasted twenty-two 
days in moving his army fifty to sixty miles — a progress of 

* In regard to the account of Williamsburg, in Chapter XXII, Major-Gcneral Heintz- 
ELMAX wrote : " They (the pamphlets in which it originally appeared) contain the only 
account I ever met with of the battle, or affair, of Williamsburg." The veteran General 
added some notes, but, as this chapter was in print, they could not be inserted. This 
the publishers regret as much as the author. Brevet Major-General G. Mott alec 
remarked, in a subsequent letter: "lam like General Heintzelman; the pamphJeta 
contain the only (account) of the battle of Williamsburg I have ever seen. I was Lieat.- 
Col. of the 5th N. J. Vole, at that time ; made Colonel of the 6th from that date." 



312 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENT. 

about two miles per day — a sluggishness in May only to find its 
parallel iu his September slackness in Maryland. Is it to be 
wondered at, that the wits of the army dubbed him the " Vir- 
ginia Creeper?" 

" And here I may point out on passing," is the remark of the 
Prince db Joinville, " a characteristic trait of the American 
people — that is as well in regard to the people as to an agglom- 
eration of individuals — delay. This' delay in resolving and 
acting, 80 opposed to the prompitude, the decision, the audacity 
to Avhich the American, considered as an individual, had accus- 
tomed us, is an inexplicable phenomenon, which always causes 
me the greatest astonishment. It is the abuse of the individuals 
initiative that kills the collective energy," etc., etc. Attention 
was invited to this paragraph by a distinguished general, by no 
means unfriendly to McClellan, with the observation, " Who 
could this be aimed at but the commander-in-chief? How could 
the Prince know the American people except through him ?" A 
prominent cavalry commander heard the Prince make the very 
same remark. 

Arrived in the immediate vicinity of Richmond, he posted 
his forces so as to violate one of the plainest rules of strategy, 
or grand tactics ; so as absolutely to invite that attack of Joe 
Johnston, which nearly crumbled one wing, or one-third of his 
army.* He acted as if totally unaware that there could be meu 
in his front who would see quicker, think quicker, plan quicker, 
and act quicker than he could. There was one, however, 
Kearnt, in the Union army, if no more, whose quick eyes com- 
prehended, and whose nimble pen prophesied the impending 
peril. 

On the 28th May, Kearny f wrote to a correspondent : "And 
now to our present affairs. They seem to move on tolerably, 

* "The best method of defending a river, says Dumas quoting Von Bulow, sx. lyC, is 
then to hold the army asgembled at some distance from the shore and fall vigorously 
upon the enemy as soon as he has affected the crosging." This proposition is identical 
with that demonstrated by Johnston. 

t The following cotemporaneous anecdotes of Kearny from Chaplain Marks' Pen- 
insnla Campaign in Virginia are graphic and interesting. « * « 

A. M. After reaching headquarters, learned of General (Seth) Wiixiams (Asst. Adjt.- 
Gen. A. of P.), that General Kearnt was upon the left wing of the army at Baltimore 
cross-roads, and would cross the Chickahomiuy at Bottom Bridge, and that I was fuQy 



BIOGRAPHY OF 5IAJ0R-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 313 

but without vitality, and with hourly signs of a waat of talent 
and administration. We are likely to have a full battle in a 
very few hours. I confess myself not over sanguine Math it. By 
mismanagement the army has lost one-third (by sickness and 
stragglers) since leaving Yorktowu. Those brigades within my 
hearing only average about two thousand, instead of over three 
thousand; they should be four thousand. But this is not all ; 
]McClella:n-, most unfortunately, is putting up every three or 
four miles, or less, successive lines of rifle-pits, miles in length, 
thus too openly imparting to the soldiers his own personal dis- 
trust of them." Iq another letter he writes thus: "We are 
on the eve of a great battle, which is to decide the fote of 
Virginia. The enemy will fight well, although shaken by the 
defeat at Williamsburg. I presume that, after our lead ofi" the 
other day, the rest of the army will fight well ; but McClellax 
lias been most injudicious, with his ill-organized marches and 
easy permission to the men to escape home, or be sent back on 

fifteen miies from my regiment. And here I may pause for a moment to bear testimony 
to the uniform courtesy of this excellent officer Wixliams, who bore into the army tiud 
never lost the urbanity of a true gentleman and the patient kindness of a Christian. 
******* 

Page 182. The following morning (25Ui May) I reached our encampment beyond the 
Chickahominy, and was gratified lo learn that fre were within ten miles of Richmond. 
7. could not And the headquarters of General Kearny, and therefore reported to Gene- 
ra! Jameson the condition of the sick of our brigade left behind, and requested that he 
would take measures to send back nurses and hospital stores. 

Very soon after General Jajieson rode to the headquarters of General Keap.nt and 
reported to him my statement. In a few minutes an orderly came into onr camp bearing 
a request from General Keaunt, '• that Chaplain Marks should report h'mself at his 
tent." I confess I rode to his headquarters with many misgivings, for I had not 
reported, as commanded, to the General himself. When I came np to his tent door, I 
was ushered into his prosenco by an orderly — his faca was frowning. 

" How is it, sir," said he, " that you did not report to hie in person ? " 

"Excuse me, general," I said, "I did not think my report of sufficient consequence 
to authorize me to trouble yooi with it, and I designed, as 9oon &s I could find your 
headquarters, to report to you in perpon ; but in the meactimo meeting General Jasie- 
eoN, I reported to him the condition of the sick in hi» brigade.*' .* 

"Well," said he, " you reported that sick men in my division were lying in the woods 
and in tents, a long distance from any house without any medical attendance or nurses, 
and no one had looked after them since we left ; is that «o, sir ? " 

"Yes. sir." 

"Why, sir, did you bring back a report so calcul^^fl $o demoralize and dishearten 
the army ? "' 

"I reported t-o none but t-o General JAStESON, and Iha* with the purpose of having 
gent back to them medicines, nurses and hospital gjiiJipIkSi, and, if it Was best, to go 
back myself." 

40 



314: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the slightest pretext of sickness. McClellan has been too 
slow ; he should have annihilated the enemy in Williamsburg 
before they could have reached the Chickahominy. Until 
within three days he evidently had no fixed plan of action ; 
since then he has done better. The battle will be on Wednes- 
day. Unless a Bull Run, it will be full success ; if a Bull Run, 
I expect that my division will be the only one to escape. I 
have ray men completely in hand ; they became very entlmsi- 
astic for me, but I have seen so much mismanagement that 
nothing will take me unawares." We did have " a full battle 
in a very few hours; it was the battle of Fair Oaks, called by 
the rebels Seven Pines." 

" Well, sir, why did you not remain there, and bring in all those sick men ? how did 
you dare to come away and leave them ? " 

" Sir," I replied, "I saw the last man brought in before I left; every man from the 
fields and woods was in the hospital." 

" WeU, sir," relaxing a little, " you must obey orders. Say nothing about this in 
camp, chaplain ; everything relating to my sick men touches my heart. I'll have occa- 
sion for you again, chaplain, now go ; but hereafter obey orders." 

I bowed and left the tent. From that hour General Keaknt was my wannest friend, 
and invariably treated me with the greatest kindness. 

A. M. 3 — Page 185. "About this time I received the following letter from General 
Keaknt, which I introduce here as an illustration of his watchful interest and care for 
the sick of his division, expressing as it does eentimente of humanity which add to the 
glory of one of the bravest of our commanders. 

[Copy.] 

" Headquarters, Thtrd Division, } 
Fair Oaks, June 15, 1862. ( 

Dear Sir: I return you my grateful acknowledgments of your noble and energetic 
conduct in behalf of our poor sufferers of this division. 

" Prom long experience in the field uo one appreciates more sensibly the Bervico you 
thus render to humanity and to our cause. 

"If there has been one point more than another, where I have hitherto laboriously, 
and concientiously, and successfully fulfilled my duties as an ofllcer. It has been in my 
solicitude for the sick and disabled. I am thankful to find in you a strong coadjntor : 
and when I am a little more free to separate myself from the cares of being on the spot 
to command in case of attack, I will ever be found a constant visitor of the hospitals. 
" Most respectfuUj' your obedient servant, 

" P. E:EARNY, Brig.-Gea. 
" The Rev. Dr. Marks, Chaplain 63d Eegt. Pa. T'ofo." 

Perhaps there is no greater tr:j(?inpllfication of the incessant vigilance exercised by 
General Kearnt in everything which could effect the health of his troops, than the 
following order, which the writer picked up by accident, at the auction of the eflfects 
of a citizen of New Jersey, who, doubtless, had been rne of Kearnt's First Brigade 
from that State. It is ver}' simple, and at first blush seems of little importance, but 
upon reflection it will speak volumes in favor of that commander who, if he seemud 
"cosi-iron" and led his men to desperate ventures in the "battle field, nevertheless 
watched over their real welfare with the solicitude of a milUaii/, and, therefore, a truly 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARXY. 315 

It is well to reflect if the same volumes from which Keaent 
had derived his information were not equally open to McClel- 

LAN. 

In the history of war it is seldom that a general is found who 
exhibits a greater compound of caution, where that quality was 
the key to success, and audacity, when the opposite was the 
essential of the hour, than Ferdinand of Brunswick. 

Napoleon, in his observations on Ferdinand's campaign of 
1758, remarks : "The -duke, no doubt, made a brilliant cam- 
paign, but his glory was so feebly contested that it would be 
small if he had not other and more solid titles to i)rove his 
talents and his ability. 

"(l.) His passage of the Rhine was contrary to every rule. 
He remained several days on the left of that river separated 
from two-thirds of his own army. * * The plan of the duke 
was vicious. If Chevert had succeeded in getting possession 
of the Bridge of Rees, his army would have been lost. * * 
(3.) The plan of the duke, at the battle of Cre veldt, was con- 
trary to the rule : ' Never separate one wing of your army from 
the other, so that your enemy can thrust himself in the intervaL' 
Ferdinand divided his line of battle into three parts, separated 
from each other by long intervals and defiles. He turned a 
whole army with a corps-in-the-air, not supported, which (thus 
corps) ought to have been enveloped and captured." 
■ ■ ■ ■* 

considerate " father," a title often applied to generals who give an earnest attention 
to the bodily health and comfort of the men confided to their care, while keeping np 
the strictest discipline, that they might realize its benefits by enjoying "mens sana 
IN CORPOBE SANG " — t. f. a mind perfectly attuned to their duty in noblest J"rames fittest 
to discharge it : 

HEAixirAETERa, N. J. Brigade, Nov. 3d, 1S61. 

circular, 

Jb Commanders of Refjinunts : 

You will be particular and see that the men of your Regiment are not kept out too 

long in the open air, during church service and the reading of the regulations. 

By order of 

Brigadier-General KEARNY. 
W. E. Sturges, a. D. C. 

It was while reflecting upon this subject, the interest felt by Kearnt in the welfare 
of his men, that the curious chance occurred which threw the above circular or order 
into the writer's way. When the season, exposure and consequent risk are considered, 
it is easy to perceive what an immense amount of sickness and sufi'ering may have 
been prevented by this circumstance ; and yet, how very, very few officers take such 
things into account. 



316[ BIOGKAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Let US see if these remarks do not apply almost to the letter 
to MgClellan. In the first place he did exactly what Napoleox 
Mamed the duke Ferdinand for doing. He massed more than 
two-thirds of his army to the north of the Chickahominy, send- 
ing one-third,* Avith only a single connection across that treach- 
erous stream, for that feai'ful storm of the afternoon and night 
of 3.0th May — almost unprecedented in the memory of man — 
swept away every other means of communication. 

Terrible indeed was that storm. The rain came down in 
tropic torrents, and the lightning descended not in flashes, but 
in sheets of flame, seeming from time to time to envelop the 
whole bivouacs in its lurid glare. An officer of the Sickles, or 
"Excelsior" brigade, a truthful, matter-of-fact man, stated it 
was hoiTible to witness, and described the electric fire as rnn- 
ning again and again along the line of stacked muskets, "tip- 
ping the points of the bayonets with flashes like jets of gas." 

As soon as Johnston knew of this dislocation of the Union 
line, he determined to attack, and coming out of Richmond, 
distant seven miles, he fell furiously on Caset's division, then 
partially entrenched near Fair Oaks. Greelet is clear on the 
point. Casey fought very well for a time, but he was soon 
flanked, and his command crumbled away into a rout, exposed 
as it was to a galling fire in front, flanks and rear.f Kearnt was 

,^^^ ^ . !il_ . -_ — . 

*Peince Eugene owed his orreat \ictory at Zenta, 1697, to such a blunder on the pari 
of the TurliS ; Fbedekick nearly lost the battle of Prague, in 17£7, by leaving the Prince 
OP Anhal'J Dessau on the right bank of the Moldan, and did lose the fruits of his yic- 
tory ; the Abchdukb Charles could thank such an impnidence on the part of Napo- 
leon for the only decided success he gained over his great adversary, at Aspem, in 
1809; and at Dresden, in 1813, the great loss sustained by the Anstrians was owing to 
their wing being separated from the rest of the Allied army by a ravine not equivalent 
to. such a stream as the Chickahominy. McClellan repeated at Antietam his fatal 
mistake in the Peninsula. Here, again, in September, his army was astraddle of the 
Maryland river as it was a c/iencd the Chickahominy in May and June. He very nearly 
realized the subsequent simile of Likcoln, of the ox on, or across, the fence, who eould 
neither use its horns to gore nor heels to kick. 

t" When I reached Despatch Station I learned that a battle was then in progress. I 
stopped at our encampment, but found that all of General Kkaenet's troops had been 
hurried up to the scene of conflict." 

"Iran up the railroad to^vards the field of battle. It was now near three P. M. ; and 
at Meadow Station, one mile east of Savage Station, and two and a quarter from Seven 
Pines, I began to meet the wounded men, who, with broken arms, shattered fingers, 
and fresli cuts, were wandering to the roar, without any definite purpose. They were 
mostly of General Casey's division, and being disabled, when relieved by Generals 
Kbaenet and Hooker, they were at liberty to seek succor and surgical aid," -Chap- 
lain Makes' Peninsula Campaign, page 187. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GE^'ERAL PHILIP KEAJJNY. 517 

ordered up to re-establish tbe cruslied line. For two hours and 
a half he fouglit gallantly against a coufideut enemy; convinced 
all the time that the true proceeding would have been to re- 
commence the attack from a firm second line, instead of an un- 
availing attempt to re-establish the first. But he complained 
that the injustice done to him at Williamsburg, by giving to 
another General the praise which was due to him and others, 
had dampened the ardor of his men and reduced their morale. 
Nothing is so contagious among troops as the influence of 
apathy or lethargy, or injustice in a commander, especially 
when the enterprising and audacious feel that their efforts and 
courage are ignored and depreciated. Although unable to push 
trie enemy, and at one time nearly surrounded, so that only one 
line of retreat into White Oak Swamp remained open, and thus 
greatly threatened, Kearny held his own, and kept the field 
till the head of Sumner's column, having pushed across 
the Chickahominy Swamp, struck the enemy's line and sent 
him reeling in disorder from the parts of the field he had 
gained. 

Months before, Kearny had pronounced Johnston a very slow 
man for the oftensive, although for the defensive and ofltensive- 
defensive he displayed a masterly ability (witness his retreat 
before Sherman in 1864) ;'and the event at Seven Pines proved 
the truth of this estimate. Had the furious onset made upon 
Casey and continued upon Couch, taken place at nine or ten 
o'clock in the day, the rout of the two corps would have been 
complete before reinforcements could have crossed the Chicka- 
hominy and its flooded swamps. But Kearny was able to save 
the day here, as he had before at Williamsburg, b}- hard-hitting- 
and stubborn -holding on at a critical time.* His own account 

* " Onr Boldiers ever spoke with the greatest admiration of the coolness and bravery 
of Generals Heintzlejian, Hooker, Sumner, Kearny and Couch. General Hooker 
on this flay more than eustained the reputation he had obtained at Willinrasbnrg, as 
possessed of that clear-sif^htedness, and couva£;e. and prophetic prognostication of the 
position and movements of the enemy, which have since placed him at the head of the 
Army of the Potomac. General Kearnt showed himself equal to every emergency, darinr/ 
every danger, and rv^king his life in the most hazardous positions. His men seemed to he 
capable of performing anything under his eye, for their confidence in his courage and. mili- 
tary courage was unbounded. I have often heard the men speak at the camp-fires of Ms itn- 
ruffied coolness during both of tlwse days."— CHAVhAm Marks" Peninsula Ckmipaic/u, 
page 200. 



318 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

of the battle, though only a hasty dash written on the day fol- 
lowing, is lively and graphic : 

"As the battle came off quite unexpectedly yesterday, I 
hasten to send you a line, knowing how anxious you will be, 
and to say that I thank God that the great risks (for it was 
again a crisis of saving a runaway people) I ran have not re- 
sulted in even a light wound. I was visiting some friends the 
other side of the Chickahominy, some five or six miles off, when 
a rattle of musketry was heard, and I instantly felt that I was 
concerned in it. So, mounting, I galloped back, and was just 
in time to lead my men some miles to the front, to save a huge 
corps that had run like good fellows at the first attack. This 
time it was an old acquaintance in Mexico, General Casey, 
whose men gave way most shamefully — filling the roads from 
the battle-field to our camp, three and a half miles, and ran 
away worse than at Bull Run. I am used to many strange 
sights, but when I saw before the race of the fugitives a whole 
line of wagons going full tilt, I thought that many a pretty 
bold man might well have his senses turned. Then came a 
stream of fugitives, and finally they poured in, in masses. My 
superior (Heintzelman) had previously ordered me to leave a 
brigade in the rear. He then first sent to me to send away one 
brigade by the railroad, quite away from my control, and then 
a brigade up to the battle-field. I accompanied this, ordered 
up, at my own responsibility, m^ absent brigade (Jameson's), 
and pushed on at a fearful pace. I got under fire, as usual, and 
was sent to charge, while thousands of those I came to help 
were left quietly to be passed by, by me, and crouch down in 
the rifle-pits and fortifications. We put right in, and I drove 
back the enemy ; biit McClellan's injustice has changed my 
men. They followed me, after a fashion, but were cold and 
slow ; still, I won everything. When the enemy got behind us, 
and the troops in the rear ran like sheep, I flew to them, hur- 
i*ahed at them, waved my cap, and turning them, led them into the 
fight again. I had hardly done this, when another large party 
of the enemy stole in behind my brigade, and I was nearly cut 
off from my own men ; but rushing to a wood near by I made a 
stand. Plowever, I looked back at my recent borrowed followers, 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 319 

and found tliem and all the others — some seven or eight thou- 
sand of that line (Keyes' Corjjs) — running like good felloAvs, 
and masses of the enemy regularly but surely, rapidly and 
sternly pursuing them, keeping the only reported roads of re- 
treat. Thinks I to myself, I am cut off, me and mine. 

" Most fortunately, I had that very morning examined, with 
a fine guide, all that secret, locked-up country of forests and 
swamps. I saw that they hoped to cut me off from retreat by 
getting between me and White Oak Swamp. By this time a 
regiment of mine, attracted by the firing in their rear, came 
along iu the woods. I charged the enemy in rear, and 
would have gained the day but for continuous reinforcements. 
But I fought them long enough to enable all my intercepted 
regiments to retire by a secret road through the swamp ; got 
back to my position — a very strong one, from which I should 
not have been taken — before the enemy arrived there, and again 
offered the sole barrier, when all else was confusion. Still, this 
was not victory. It was the first time that I had not slept on 
the battle-field, and but for the mismanagement as to our battle 
at Williamsburg, I would have been victorious here too. Still it 
is most infecting to be sent for to restore a fight, and see hordes 
of others, panic-stricken, disobedient, craven, and downcast. 
Anywhere it is a disagreeable sight to see the wounded being 
carried off the field of battle, even from a victorious one. I 
have again had an aid wounded, and lost a beautiful bay colt, 
which was shot from under me. I was not so long, but at times 
more exposed than ever ; my colt being very fractious, kept me, 
while plunging, in a perfect current of cannon and rifle balls, 
and alone in the face of too many scamps who seemed to pick 
me out. It was at this time that my colt received his first 
wound ; an hour later he was killed under me, and I mounted 
the horse of an adjutant who chanced to follow." 

By way of illustrating the felicity of his military style, and 
the ringing eloquence with which he addressed his men after 
the smoke of battle had cleared away, two of his general orders 
are given, the first issued a few days after Fair Oaks, the 
second a short time after Malvern Hill : 



320 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

HEAQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS,) 
Camp near Richmond, Va., June 5th, 1862. [ 

" General Orders No. 15. — Brave Regiments of the Division : you have' won 
for us a high reputation. The country is satisfied, your friends at home are 
proud of you. After two battles and victories, purchased with much blood, 
you may be counted as veterans. I appeal, then, to your experience, to your 
personal observation, to your high intelligence, to put in practice on the battle- 
field the discipline you have acquired in camp. It will enable you to conquer 
with more certainty and less loss. 

2. Shoulder-straps and chevrons : you are marked men, you must ever be 
in front. Colonels and field-offlcers : when it comes to the bayonet, lead the 
charge; at other times circulate among your men, and supervise, keep officers 
and men to their eongtituted commands, stimulate the laggard, brand the 
coward, direct the brave, prevent companies from " huddling up " or mixing. 

3. Marksmen: never in the fight cheapen your rifles; when you fire, make 
sure and hit. In woods and abattis one man in three is to fire, the others re- 
serve their loads to repel an onset, or to head a rush. It is with short rushes 
and this extra fire, from time to time, that much ground is gained. Each 
man up in first line, none delaying, share danger alike — then the peril and 
loss will be small. 

4. Men : you brave individuals in the ranks, whose worth and daring, 
unknown perhaps to your superiors, but recognized by your comrades, 
influence more than others. I know that you exist, I have watched you in 
the fire ; your merit is sure to have its recompense. Tour comrades at the 
bivouac will report your deeds, and it will gladden your families ; in the end 
you will be brought before the (your) country. 

5. Color-bearers of regiments : bear them proudly in the fight, erect and 
defiantly in the first line. It will cast terror into the opponents to see it sus- 
tained and carried forward. Let it be the beacon-light of each regiment. The 
noblest inscriptions on your banner are the traces of the balls. 

6. Again, noble divisions, I wish you success and new victories, until the 
cause of our sacred Union being triumphant, you return honored to your 
homes." 

HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, ) 
Camp near Harrison's Landing, July 7th 1862. J 

"General Orders No. 27. — Brave Comrades : As one of your Generals 
who has shared in your penis, so I sympathize in your cheers for victory 
when I pass. . The name of this Division is marked. Southern records are 
full of jou. In attack you have driven them, when assailed you have repulsed 
them. Be it so to the end. New regiments, we give you a name, engraft on 
it fresh laurels. 

Comrades in battle : Let our greeting be a cry of defiance to our foe ; after 
the fight, one greeting of victory for ourselves. This done, remember that, 
like yourselves, I have duties of labor, in which I must move unobserved, as 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEiVL PHILIP KEAKNT. 321 

a true brother in hand and heart of this oar Warrior-Divisiou-family. Success 
attend you." ■ • 

On the same day on which he issued this oi'der, he wrote as 
follows to a military friend in regard to the battle of the 31st 
of May, and then the aftair of the following day : 

" Since then (5th) we have had another severe affair at Fair Oaks Station. 
I whipped all before me ; but 1,300 men out of 5,000 ; I was cut oflf, faced the 
Thii^y-seventh New York, Col. Hayman, to their rear, attacked the second 
line T)f the enemy (from some woods) in their right rear, after their first line, 
having caved in our center, had occupied our line of retreat, and swept by near 
quarter of a mile. It was ' pull Dick, pull Devil.' I gave time to the rest of 
the division to retire by a ' detour,' and at one time I flattered myself that I 
would turn the tables on the enemy, but their admirable conduct, and the 
masses still m reserve, enabled them to form a strong line and nearly surround 
us as in a ring. It was at this time that I lost my beautiful four-year-old 
bay colt, a noble charger, shot in the jugular. However, as I knew from some 
very fortunate recounoissances that very day (an old cavalry habit), certain . 
blind roads through the swamp, I got off my people, and had them re-estab- 
lished in the camp, fortified lines from which I had been most blunderingly 
sent forth — after the troops in front (Casey's Division) had reached my position 
(before I started to go forward the three miles) in a most perfectly dilapidated 
coudition. * * * As for that matter, it amused me not a little, when 
I arrived under fire, to find * * * -whose men had proved so light- 
hteled, all but some less active minded, who still ' impassively ' lined certain 
rear rifle-pits, calinly looking as if he thought it all right for his people to run. 
* * * Yv^ith all my instinctive habit of going ahead, it did seem a little 
ridiculous to be sent for the whole of three miles to go in for other p%ople, 
about as many hundreds of yards. A bristling abattis and dense copses, once 
ours, now theirs, were perfect specimens of fire-work. But my Michigan 
Sharpshooters soon got employed in the same way. Berry's Brigade, and soon 
after, some fine Mountain Boys from Pennsylvania, under General Jamesok, 
ar.d all worked to a marvel during two hours, * * * * when the brilliant 
mMnoeuvering of the Southerners, with overwhelming numbers of clock-work 
men (I never saw such discipline under fire, even with the French), mathe- 
raatically forct- d our center (the residue of Keyes' Corps, etc.) to cave in, and 
leave poor me in the lurch. My loss had beon terrific — excepting those of the 
Thirty-seventh New York, who helped us home — all received in victorious 
advance ; but I at least, as the phrase goes, have the satisfaction of having 
counted on the field two of theirs for one of ours. Still, all this, though des- 
perate fighting, unusual in war, unsurpassed in Europe, is conducive of no 
results. At Williamsburg, an unexampled success at a tremendous price, an 
affair that never should have been gotten into to that depth, resulted vainly, 
from McClellan not pursuing and preventing their ' debris ' (wrecks) from 
41 



332 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

crossing the Chickahominy. It had been the same thing when they retreated 
panic-strioken from Manassas. The fight on Saturday (30th May), although, 
as a surprise, — it threw back a corps that never should have been so blunder- 
ingly isolated and advanced, — was not a victory for them (though a defeat for 
some of us), since it foitnd my division back in my entrenched camp, prepared 
to defy them, and since the day following, one of my brigades and other strong 
detachments under Sltmnbr, drove back once more their advance pests, whom 
they had left near us, and which, if followed up, might have given forth frait. 
Still it was not. It only proves that McClellan * * * is utterly and 
absolutely unfit for his place, and is it surprising that it should be so, \ylien 
one reflects that without having made any sensation in Mexico, that on a class 
repute for mathematics and railroad directorship in Illinois, and the most 
ridiculously trivial baby-fights in Western Virginia (where he never led) that 
he should have been lionized into a chieftainship, which he has exercised with, 
faroritism, injustice, * * * ever keeping himself purposely in the rear in 
critical seasons to avoid the embarrassment of having to act aJid direct, when 
consulted. And I have only to add that we are now in a stupidly perilous 
condition ; for, with half of the army — with which he is afraid to make the 6 (5i) 
miles to Richmond — he keeps this half of it exposed this side of the Chicka- 
hoipiny, with every bridge carried away by freshet, and impassable. If wo 
escape a disaster, it is that the loss of the secessionists, the other day, was 
(notwithstanding their pluck) too severe to be tried twice. They must have 
concentrated against us on points vastly superior forces.* I am sure that I 
could count as before me, from sound and sight, treble my people. It is true, 
that McClellan's ignoring us * * has disheartened us all. Still, if you 
once vjhip, you must ahvays whip. It becomes a way of doing the thing, even when 
the heart is away. 

I have had again an aid wounded, a lieutenant Mallon. Poor "Wilson and 
Br-VINArd can never bo replaced; warm in heart, devoted to mc, without 
guile, they were talented soldiers, such as you rarely find among men." 

One anecdote from a participant in that momentous struggle 
is worthy of insertion. On one occasion, when General Mc- 
Clellan rode over to the left of our lines in front of Richmond, 
examining General Hei^ttzelman's position. Generals Keaeny 
and Hooker accompanying him, he turned to the veteran corps 
commander and said : " What of your position here ? Can you 
hold it ? " Heintzelman, addressing his nearest subordinate, 
remarked : " What say you, General Hooker ? " "I can hold 
my position," replied Hooker, " against one hundred thousand 
men." " Well, Kearny, what say you ? " " Well," rejoined 

*Por a comparison to Jolmston's strategy at Fair Oaks, examine MiKHAn,orsKT- 
Daktblefskt's " Campaign in France, 1814," Chapter ix, pages 192, etc. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARMY. 323 

Keaext, "if the Rebels think they can take my position, let 
them come and try it." ■ These answers are perfectly charac- 
teristic of the two men. 

Before committing the criminal error of dislocating his left — 
Napoleon's especial charge against Ferdinand of Brunswick 
— from whose fatal conseq-uences McClellan was alone preserved 
by Kearny's prompt and hard fighting, and by the patriotic de- 
termination of Sumner, whose one-man-will served as a bridge 
oyer which the corps hurried on the afternoon of the 31st of 
May to preserve the Union left — McClellan, meanwhile, had 
committed a second mistake. This is the very one to which 
Napoleon refers as the Duke's third violation of the rules of 
war. He projected his right wing from twelve to fourteen miles 
in the air on the plea of extending a hand to McDowell, 
whose most advanced outposts were from eight to twenty miles 
distant on an air line to the northward. 

At this time, McDowell's main army was at Fredericksburg, 
sixty miles distant, to which it was chained by the timidity of 
the government — a timidity of which McClellan was per- 
fectly well aware from the moment he assumed command — a 
timidity which his own over-caution ought to have made him 
thoroughly appreciate — a timidity of which he again had 
proof April 5th, while before Yorktown — a timidity which 
ought to have taught him not to compromise his own army in 
the hope of receiving any re-enforcements which would leave 
Washington uncovered. No man of true common sense, accus- 
tomed to judge of the future from the past, would have based 
any project on hojies of being joined by the " Army of Vir- 
ginia," as it was afterward named. 

Here the observer has a right to propound the question, could 
Porter have maintained himself, when so dislocated, at Han- 
over Court House, until McDowell (that is, his army in force) 
arrived ? It is true McClellan claimed for him a " glorious," 
a "complete victory," and dispatched to Washington a jubilant, 
swelling report, which Lincoln's common sense pricked with a 
single question. This glorious victory — totally destitute of 
result — on the right, 27th May, was succeeded on the 31st, by 
the surprise of the Union left, which resulted in the severe bat- 



324: BIOGRAPHY OF .MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ties of Fair Oaks and Seven Pines, already dwelt on. Tliat 
this surprise did not result in the destruction of our forces south 
of the Chickahominy, was entirely due to Kearny's hard 
fio-hting, and tenacious holding, and "vigilant" Sumner's 
resolution in crossing to the rescue. When the next day the 
battle was renewed and won, MoClellan could or would not 
improve it. He could have followed the "broken and dis- 
pirited " enemy into their capital, which at that time had no 
defense except its army — an army thoroughly "beaten and 
demoralized." If any proof was necessary to demonstrate in 
the clearest manner that the administration were correct in 
refusing to allow McClbllan to absorb McDowell's army, 
the non-improvement of Fair Oaks was all-sufficient. 

REPORTS. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, HEINTZELMAN'S CORPS, ) 
Entrenched Camp Near Savage's, June 2, 18G3. ( 

Sir : — On the 31st ultimo, at three p. m., I received an order to send a Brigade of my 
Division, by the railroad, to support Kbtes' Corps, said to lie severely engaged. 

Birney's Brigade was designated, and getting most promptly under arms, advanced 
accordingly. 

Captain Hdnt, Aid to General Heintzelman, arriving from the field, made me aware 
of the discomfiture of most of Casey's Division. The retiring wagons, and a dense 
stream of disorganized fugitives, arrived nearly simultaneously. As a precaution, I 
ordered some picked Michigan Marksmen and a regiment to proceed and occupy the 
dense woods bordering on the left of our position, to take in flank any pursuers. I, 
however, soon received General Heintzelman's directions, to order forward, by the 
Williamsburg road, the remaining Brigade, and to retrieve the position the enemy had 
driven u s from. 1 intt myself at the head of the advanced regiment* and set forward with- 
out delay. I also sent written orders for Jameson's Brigade, camped at our tete-de-pont, 
near Bottom's Bridge (three miles in the rear), to come up without delay. This order 
met with General Heintzelman's approval. On arriving at the field of battle, we 
found certain zigzag rifle-pits sheltering crowds of men, and the enemy firing from 
abattis and timber in their front. General Casey remarked to me, on coming up : " If 
you will regain our late camp, the day will still be ours." I had but the Third Michigan 
up, but they moved forward with alacrity, dashing into the felled timber, and com- 
menced a desperate but determined contest, heedless of the shell and ball which rained 
upon them. This regiment, the only one of Birney's Brigade not engaged at Williams- 
burg, at the price of a severe lose, has already out-vied all competitors. Its work this 
day was complete. This regiment lost : — 

Third Michigan lost — 
Officers kuxed : — Captain S. A. JUDD, Company A, 1 



* Generals Kearnt and Hooker did their part, and did it well, as every one will 
admit who saw the former dashing along the front of his line, encouraging his com- 
mand to renewed exertion, and heard the latter exclaim as he emerged from the woods 
into the open battle-field, " My men, folloiv me 1" — {Newspaper Slip.) 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 325 

Officers -wounded : — Colonel S. G. CHAMPLIN; Captain S. G. LOWING, Com- 
pany F; First Lieutenants : — G. E. JUDD, Company A; N. M. PELTON, 
Company C ; G. W. DODGE, Company F ; H. L WHITNEY, Company G ; S. 
BRENNAN, Company I; Second Lieutenants : — D. C. CRAWFORD, Company 
E ; JOSEPEH MASON, Company I, 9 

Total officers killed and wonnded, . . 10 

Enlisted men killed 31 

Enlisted men wounded, Ill 

Enlisted men missing, 14 

Total loss, 16G 

One company of fifty picked marksmen lost its Captain, killed, its Lieutenant, 
wounded, and twenty-six men. I take pleasure in particularizing Colonel S. G. 
Champlin, wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel A. A. Stevens, Major Pierie, and Captains 
J. C. Smith and E. S. Pierie, and Lieutenant G. E. Judd. The nest regiment that 
came up. the Fifth Michigan, again won laurels as fresh as those due them for Wil- 
liamsburg. Its loss then was one hundred and forty-four. Its loss this day : 

Fifth Michigan lost — 

Officers killed: — Captain LEWIS B. QUACKENBUSH, Company H; Lieuten- 
ant and Adjutant CHARLES H. HUTCHINGS 2 

Officers wounded : — Lieutenant J. J. KNOX, Company D ; Captains : — C. H. 

TRAVERS, Company E ; WILSON, Company G ; MILLER, Company K, 4 

♦* ■ 

Total officers killed and wounded, .-...., 6 

Enlisted men killed, 30 

Enlisted men wounded, 116 

Enlisted men missing, 7 

Totalloes, ..«^ 159 

Its noble officers did their duty. I directed General Beert, with his regiment, to 
turn the " Slashings" and, fighting, gain the open ground on the enemy's right flank. 
Thia was perfectly accomplished. The Thirty-seventh New York was arranged in 
column to support the attack. Its services in the sequel proved invaluable. 

In the meanwhUe, my remaining Brigade, the One Hundred and Fifth and Sixty-third 
Pennsylvanians, came ap under General Jameson, the other two regiments having been 
diverted, one to Birnet, and one to Peck. It is believed that they did well, and most 
probably urgent reasons existed, but I most respedfuUy mtJmdt that it is to the disad- 
vantage of a constituted command to take men from their habitual leaders, and not to 
be anticipated that a brave, tTumgh weak Division can accomplish the same resvlfs, 
with its regiments thus allotted out to those whom they neither k/ieiv nor have fought 
under — at tfie same time that it diminishes the full legitimate sphere of the commander 
of the Dlvlnon. Of these regiments the One Hundred and Fifth was placed in the 
"Slashing," now vacated by the oblique advance of the Third Michigan, whOst eight 
companies of the Sixty-third Pennsylvanians, led by Lientenant-Colonel Morgan, and 
most spiritedly headed by General Jameson, aided by his daring Chief of Stafi", Captain 
Potter, were pushed through the abattis {the poi-tvms nev-er tmtil now occupied by 
us), and nobly repelled a strong body of the enemy, Who, though in a strong line, and 
coming up rapidly and in order, just failed to reach (to sxipport) this position in time, 
but, who, nothing daunted, and with a courage worthy a united cause, halted in battle 
array, and poured in a constant heavy roll of mus}ietry &SQ, 

Th« One Hundred and Fifth lost -— 
CpriCERS KILLED : — Captain JOHN C. BOWLING, Company B ; First Lieutenant 
J. P. K, CUMMUSK7, Company D, tv-«^<.^^..^ _. 2 



326 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Officers wounded : — Colonel A. A. McKNIGHT ; Captains : — L. C. DUFF, Com- 
pany D ; J. W. 6REENAWALK, Company E ; R. KIRK, Company P ; A. C. 
THOMPSON, Company K; First Lieutenants: —S. A. CRAIG, Company B; 
C. C. MARKLE, Company E ; JAMES B. GAGGIE, Company F ; Second Lieu- 
tenant A. J. SHIPLEY, Company E, 9 

Total officorg killed and wounded 11 

Enlisted men killed, 67 

Enlisted men wounded, 115 

Enlisted men missing, 63 

Total loss 250 

Sixty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers lost — 

Officers killed : — First Lieutenant HENRY HURST, Company C, 1 

Officers wounded: — Lieutenant-Colonel A. S. M. MORGAN ; Adjutant GEORGE 
P. CORTES ; Quartermaster W. N. HAYMAKER ; Captain JOHN A. DEINKES, 
Company E; First Lieutenant T. L. MAYNARD, Company B; Second Lieu- 
tenant, L. I. MOREHEAD, Company G; Acting Second Lieutenant G. E. 
GROSS, Company D, 7 

Total officers killed and wounded S 

Enlisted men killed, 31 

Enlisted men wounded, 88 

Enlisted men missing, 21 

Total loss, US 

This was, perhaps, near sis o'clock, when our center right, defended by troops of the 
other divisions, with ali their willingness, could no longer resist the enemy's right-cen- 
tral-flank attacks, pushed on with determined discipline, and with the impulsion of 
numerous concentrated masses. Once broken, our troops fled incontinently, and a 
dense body of the eneijiy pursuing rapidly, yet in order, occupied the Williamsburg 
road, the entire open ground, and penetrating deep into the woods on either side, soon 
interposed between rny division and my line of retreat. It zoos on this occaMon, iluit, 
seeing myself cut off, and relying on the . high discipline and determined valor of the 
Thirty -seventh New York Volunteers,* I faced them to the rear against the eneviy, and 
held tlie ground, altlvough so critically placed, and despite the masses (hat gathered on 
and passed lis, checked the enemy in his intent of cutting us off against the White Oak 
Swamp. This enabled 'the advanced regiments, averted by orders, au<l thie contest in 
their rear, to return from their hitherto victorious career, and to retire by a remaining- 
wood path, known to our scouts (the Saw Mill road), until they once more arrived at 
and regained the impregnable position we had left at noon at our own fortified division 
camp. The loss of the Thirty-seventh New York is severe, viz. : 

Thirty-seventh New York lost — 

Officers killed : — Second Lieutenant W. J. FINNON 1 

Officers wounded:— Captains J. R. McCONNELL, A. J. DIGNAN ; First Lieu- 
tenant JAMEiS KEELAN, Second Lieutenants JAMES H. MARKEY, WM. 
BIRD, WM. C. GREEN, 6 

Total officers killed and wounded, 7 

Enlisted men killed, 12 

Enlisted men wotincJed, 66 

Enlisted men' missing, 2 

Total loss 87 

* " General Kearnt led the charge of the Thirty-seventh New York which decided 
the action on Saturday (31st May) in our favor." — {Newspapei Slip.) 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 327 

At Williamsburg its loss was 95 ; it there formed onr extreme left. Colonel Hatman, 
its Colonel, has ever been most distinguished. He revived this day his reputatiou 
gained in Mexico. Adjutant James Henkt, Captain Jajies R. O. Beirnb, and Lieuten- 
ants W. C. Green and P. J. Shith were particularly distinguished for courage and 
activity. 

The detached brigade, under Birnet, had been ordered to support, by the raiJrond 
side —not to attack. It accomplished this successfully, for I understand, that it ena- 
bled General Couch, vcho had been cut off with a brigade, to form a junction with the 
army. The Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers (Jameson's Brigade) having been 
on fatigue, was ordered to report to General Bibnet, and was seriously engaged. Its 
loss was: 

Fifty-ssventh Pennsylvania "Volunteers lost — 

Officers killed : — Major J. CULP,_ 1 

Officers wounded : — Colonel C. T. CAMIPBELL; Captain S. C. SIMONTON, Com- 
pany B ; Captain C. S. CHASE ; Lieutenant E. J. KICE, Company A, 4 

Total oiHcers killed and wounded, _ „ .5 

Enlisted men killed, : 17 

Enlisted men wounded, 57 

Enlisted men missing, Zi 

Total loss, 102 

This brigade, again, on the following day, having been kept out in advance of the divi- 
sion camp, performed, under Colonel J. H. Hobabt Ward, a brilliant cbarge. I refer 
you to Colonel Ward's report. 

The loss of the brigade has been : 

Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers lost — 

Officers wounded ; — Lieutenant F. WALKEB,.- .....^ * „ 1 

Enlisted men killed, ; B 

Enlisted men wounded, „ 20 

Enlisted men missing, , S 

Total loss „.„ ; 35 

Fortieth New York Volunteers lost — 
Officers wounded : — First Lieutenant LEWIS FITZGEEALD; Second Lieutenant 

CHAS. H. GESNER _ „ 2 

Enlisted men killed, 10 

Enlisted men wounded, „.„..,.„. 51 

Enlisted men prisoners, „ _ 2 

Total loss, — . 67 

Third Maine Volunteers lost— 
Officers wounded : — Captain LAKEMAN, Company I: Captain BICHl^OND. 
Company K ; Lieutenant A. S. MEREILL, Company D; Lieutenant HASKELL, 
Company K — ^.„.~,..™.....«o., » 4 

Enlisted men killed, « .- 8 

Enlisted men wounded, «.... „..«.-.( )64 

Total loss, _...^ « ~ -» 57 

Fourth Maine Volunteers lost— . 

Enlisted men killed „ ».„_.. ^.i....^.»;Mr<*»«t'—» - 

Enlisted men wounded ,. _ -... ^.^...„-<v.._>... ....... * 

Enlisted men missing „.....» ^... 1 

Total loss ™ _, „*^ 11 

The Second Michigan Volunteers, Colonel Poe, and two companies of the Sixtj--third 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, having been on distant pickets, were late to join in the battle, 
but arrived most opportunely to resist the advanced pursuers of the enemy, near our 
entrenched camps ; and aided in giving me time to organize its defence. 



328l biography of major-general PHILIP KEARNY. 

The Second Michigan lost — 
GiincteRS -wounded: — Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. WILLIAMS; Captain WM. L. 

WHIPPLE, 2 

Enlisted men killed,- 10 

Enlisted men wounded, 42 

Enlisted men missing, 1 

Total loss 55 

The? Eighty-seventh New York Volunteers was detached with General Peck. I refer 
you. to him for favorable notice. Its loss was : — 

Eighty-seventh New York Volunteers lost — 
GeficebS wounded: —Colonel S. A. DODGE; Captain T. Y. BAKEE, Company C; 
Captain D.O. BECKWITH, Company K : First Lieutenant D.A. FLANDEEAU, 
Company A ; First Lieutenant J. C. CLOYD, Company C; Second Lieutenant H. 

C. SALVAGE, Company.A 6 

Enlisted men killed, 9 

Enlisted men wounded, 62 

Enlisted men missing, 4 

Total loss SI 

It is, perhaps, within the limits of my leport, to mention General Peck, most distin- 
griished. and wounded in Mexico. On the discomfiture of the right and centre, he rallied 
near the saw-mill several hundrtdsof the fugitives, and was coming with them from there 
again to the field, when I directed them to anticipate the enemy and man the intrenched 
camp. In doing this, I particularize a noble regiment, the First Long Island Legion, under 
Colonel Adams. 

I have again to dwell on the exemplary conduct of the brilliant ofEcers of the StatT. 
Captain Potter, General Jameson's Assistant Adjutant-General, who had already 
attracted notice at Williamsburg, was here as conspicuously gallant as extremely useful. 
I have to regret the loss of Captain Smith, A. A. General of General Berrt's Staff- the 
premature fate of one whose gallantry at Williamsburg made me anticipate a career 
which he fulfilled again in this action. My acting Aid, Lieutenant Mallon, rendered me 
great service, and was wounded. My Aid, Captain Sturgess, was left to conduct General 
BrBJTEY. Captain Moobe was sent after my Artillerj', and was, as usual, active. I hare 
again to regret that the unequalled Batteries, Thompson's (2d XJ. S. Art.), Randolph's 
and Eeam's were not employed, from there beiflg other batteries substituted. 

In finishing this report, I trust that you will bring to the attention of the General-in- 
Chief; that masters of the lost camp, and victorious and in full career, that the fate of 
the Centre decided our own, and that the regiments were suddenly stopped by orders 
despatched to them, and by hearing the fire of their support, the Thirty-seventh New 
York, in rear of their entire line. But undismayed, and In good order, they effected their 
retreat. 

I have al^o to call to your attention, that the loss of my Regiments, only five thousand 
fighting men, all told, have again, within a very short period, paid the penalty of darhig 
and success by the marked and severe loss of near thirteen hundred men. I hav9 again 
to bring to notice, for conspicuous good conduct. Generals Jameson, Berry and Birney 
(2d Brigade). The latter acted in an Independent command. The two former led in per- 
son the advance of their men. Among numerous prisoners taken was Colonel Bratton, 
Sixth South Carolina Voluftteers, taken by Colonel Walker's Fourth Maine. 

The losses of the enemy were even vastly severer than our own, and, in places, th» 
slairr were piled in confused masses. 

I add, in conclusion, that the enemy's snocess of the afternoon did not prevent me, that 
very night, from pushing forward Major Dillman and two hundred Michigan Marksmen 
to the Saw-mill (one mile In advance), whence he boldly threw^out reconnoissances in the 
vicinity, and to the left of the late battle ground. 

Very respectfully, your obedient Servant, 

P. KEARNY, 
Brigadier OeneraZ, Commanding 3d Division, 3d Corps. 
To captain Chauitcev McKjaBvfiEj A. A, G. 



< 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 329 



Consolidated List of Killed, Wounded and Missing at the Battle of Fais 
Oaks, Va., May 31st, 1862. 





OFFICERS. 


ENLISTED MEN. 




COMMAND. 


1 


1 

3 
O 


to 

a 


3 

o 


■a 


■d 

01 

-a 

a 

3 

o 


ao 


2 

a 

o 
't, 


3 

o 


3 

< 


Oeneral Kearny's Staff. 




1 

"T 

7 
4 
G 

1 
2 
4 




1 
1 
11 

8 
5 
6 
1 
2 
4 


31 
17 
9 
6 
10 
8 
2 
12 
10 
31 
30 


"iis" 

88 
57 
62 
20 
51 
65 
8 
66 
42 
111 
116 


....„„. 

21 
23 
4 
8 
2 


"T 


"245" 
140 
97 
75 
34 
65 
73 
11 
80 
53 
156 
153 


1 

1 
256 
148 
102 
81 
35 
67 




1 

2 
1 
1 


liBtli Pennsylvania Volunteers 




oTtli Pennsylvania Volunteers 


87th New York Volunteera 


Ssth New York Volunteera 




40th New York Volunteers 




3d Maine Volunteers 




4th Maine Volunteers 




1 

2 
1 
14 

7 




2 


11 
87 
55 
166 
159 




1 


6 
2 
9 
4 

55 





7 

10 
6 

64 


2nd Michigan Volunteers 




1 
2 

9 






Total. 


233 


801 


146 


1182 


1216 





HEAD-QUARTERS, THIRD DIA'ISION THIRD CORPS, 1 
Entrenched Camp near Savage's, June 2cl, 1S62. J 
General Kearny's Staff. 

First Lieutenant E. Mallon, Acting A. D. C, wounded. 



Consolidated List of Killed, Wounded and Missing in Third Division. Third 
Corps, at the Battle of Fair Oaks, Va., May 31st and June 1st, 1862. 





OFFICERS. 


ENLISTED MEN. 




COMMAND, 


•d 


•d 

3 



"3 



i 


■6 

■a 

3 



a 





■3 



< 






1 

8 
9 
4 
1 
2 
5 
1 
2 
9 
5 
6 

57 


1 
1 
5 
9 

11 
4 
1 
2 
5 
1 
2 

10 
7 
7 

66 














General Berry's Staff 


1 
1 
1 
2 












X 




10 

22 
39 
11 
1 
12 

8 
2 
10 
29 
29 
11 


44 
71 
103 
64 
13 
79 
66 
7 
45 
115 
100 
62 


1 

20 
8 
6 
3 


...„. 

3 


55 
113 
150 
71 
17 
94 
77 
10 
55 
159 
148 
75 


60 




12^ 




161 










IS 












3 

1 

1 


82 








2nd Michigan Volunteers 




57 


3d Michigan Volunteers _ 


1 
2 
1 

9 


169 


37th New Y'ork Volunteera „ 


82 






Total _ 


184 


759 


78 


1024 


1090 





P. KEARNY. 
Brigadier Oeneral Oommanding Third Division Third Qyrps. 



42 



CHAPTER X%.Y. 

THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.* 

PAIE OAKS TO OAK GROVE, AND ON TO MALVERN HILL. 

( No 2. ) 

THE SEVEN DATS' BATTLES. 

The moruing kiss'd each sleeping flow'r 

And woo'd each sparkling rill, 
And rose the sun in haughty power 

On fated Malvern Hill. 

* « « • * 

It deepens !— " Forward "— " Fire again 1" — 

The volley louder pours ; — 
They charge our guns—" Now, steady, men. 

The day shall yet be ours." 
Here dashing Keabnt leads the van, 

His eagle eye on fire ; 
Alone his noble bearing can 

His weary ranks iaispire. 

* * * « 

The weary slept^-the trumpet sonnd 

Had ceased, and all was still, — 
And heaven was weeping o'er the ground 

Of fated " Malvern Hill." 

Georgetown, D. C, Coubieb's '■'• Battle of Malvern EiU." 

"In this case" (if Napoleon abandoned Lobau, after Aspern, 1809) " it was not for 
a retreat upon Vienna" (a few miles — in McClellan's case the James river) " but for 
a retreat upon Strasburg" (the Potomac, to cover Washington) "that it behoved to 
prepare." Thieks, x, xsxv, 338. 

" Said the General ( ' Stonewall Jackson ') who is your general ?" " Keabnt, as 
brave a man as ever drew a sword, do you know him, general f " replied the wonndecl 
Union soldier addressed ? " Oh, yes, well ; you are led by a good officer." Masks, 361. 

* Chapters xxiv and xxv were actually in print in September, 1868, and had 
been examined (likewise many of the preceding and subsequent ones) by an accom- 
plished General U. 8. A. That part of this, xxv, relating to Malvern Hill, was revised 
by a brilliant officer, who was present in the engagement. For whatever errors, here 
or elsewhere, may be found, the publishers are liable, as notes and references have 
been transposed, sometimes paragraphs, which errors it was impossible to correct, as 
the pages were stereotyped in some instances before a revised proof was submitted. 
This was excused by tlje plea of loss of papers in the mail. The writer supposing his work 
would have been published last Autumn, as agreed, allowed papers to get separated, 
and through the willful negligence of a trusted party his memoranda of corrections 
and references disappeared or was willfully destroyed to conceal a piece of negligence. 
This explanation is due to himself, as he is completing this work as a volunteer. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENEKAL PHILIP KEAENY. 331 

When McClellan insisted upon the movement up the Penin- 
sula, thereby, as far as he was concerned, uncovering Washing- 
ton, he had no right to suppose that the Capital would be 
entirely denuded of troops, and eveiy man committed to the 
leadership of one who could not handle the numbers he already 
had or employ them to advantage. McClellan had condemned 
himself in the Fall of 1861, in the eyes of Keaeny, and Kearity 
was not the only man in the country who saw through him. 
Was it likely that a general who allowed his army of 158,000 
men to be paralyzed for eight months by 50,000 inferior troops 
in Manassas, would have been less benumbed with nearly that 
number in the j^resence of 100,000 better troops, occupying a 
more advantageous position ? Now the extension of his right, 
and its success was an excuse ; and it would seem as if McClel- 
LAN was always seeking excuses for his want of enterprise.* 

An apathetic lull of twelve days succeeded the victory of 
Fair Oaks, when McClellan's dream of action in the dim 
future, was broken by a sharp cavalry masterstroke, which mitst 
have been a rude awakening. This was J. E. B. Stuart's 
cavalry raid, which made a complete circuit of his army.f On 

* After Fair Oaks, Sumner asked to be permitted to go into Riclimond, and said we 
conld go in for the Rebels were thoroughly routed. Fitz John Porter went up in a 
balloon, and reported that the Rebels were coming out. Thereupon McClellan 
expected an attack, whereas it was Rebels running out in another direction, not to 
attack us, but to get away from us. Hurlbtjrt admits that ;the Rebels thought they 
were "gone in" at the time. Mag.-Gen. P. 

" t A few hours, therefore, after the English tents had been pitched before Limerick, 
Sarsfield set forth, under cover of the night, with a strong body of horse and dragoons. 
He took the road to Killaloe, and crossed the Shannon there. ♦ * * He learned in 
the evening that the detachment which guarded the English artillery had halted for the 
night about seven miles from Wllliaju's camp ; ♦ * * that officers and men seemed 
to think themselves perfectly secure ; that the beasts had been turned loose to graze, 
and that even the sentinels were dozing. When it was dark the Irish horsemen quitted 
their hiding place. * * The surprise was complete. Some of the English sprang to 
their arms and made an attempt to reoist, but in vain. About sixty fell. One only was 
taken alive. The rest fled. The victorious Irish made a huge pile of wagons and 
pieces of cannon. Every gun was stuffed with powder, and fixed with its mouth in the 
ground, and the whole mass was blown up. • * The Kino guessed the design of his 
brave enemy, and sent five hundred horse to protect the guns. Unhappily there was 
some delay. * * * At one in the morning the detachment set out, but had scarcely 
left the camp when a blaze like lightning and a crash like thunder announced to the 
wide plain of the Shannon that all was over. * * * Their (Irish) spirits rose and 
the besiegers began to lose heart."— Macaulat's Eistcn^y of England, iii. 605-6. 

"He (BoiLEAu) sent Sabsfield with a picked body of cavalry to intercept the con- 
voy. Sabsfieuj crossed the Shannon at Killaloe, twelve miles from Limerick, and 



332 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the night of the 13th-14th June, this slash at his rear and com- 
munications was enough to startle any one, slow to decide and 
slower yet to i^lan. It set McClellan, doubtless, to thinking 
of his true base on the James, on the line indicated in the pre- 
vious fall by Kearny, on the line from Williamsburg direct to 
Richmond. Still, like Holgar, the Dane, in the vaults of Elsi- 
nore, he only woke up to ask, "Is it time;" or like Barbaeossa, 
in the cavern of the Thuringian Kylf-hauser Berg, awakened 
to ask " Whether the ravens still flew round the mountain." 
Ravens the general little boded were about to fly.* The 
reader has more than once seen Kearny's prophetic words 
most promptly realized. This was the case almost to the letter, 
before Fair Oaks. In the following communication he indicates 
that movement of Jackson which brought about that swift 
" change of base " or retreat to the James, which rendered the 
term almost synonymous afterwards with a flight. 

Under date of 22d June, Kearny writes as follows: "I am 
sorry that I cannot give you interesting news. Here we are 
again at a dead-lock. Manassas over again ; both parties 
entrenched up to their eyes, both waiting for something ; 
unluckily, our adversaries gaining two to our one. Our last 
chance to conquer Richmond — for Dame Fortune is resentful of 
slighted charms — was thrown away when our great battle of 
Fair Oaks was thrown away. We had tempted the enemy to 
attack us whilst divided by the Chickahominy. Fortunately, 
he failed. The prestige, nearly lost to us by our inaction since 
Williamsburg, was once more in the ascendancy. It only 
required McClellan to put forth moral force and his military 
might, and Richmond would have been ours. But no ; delay 
on delay ; fortifications, as if we were beaten, met by stronger 

marching along by-roada, Burprised the escort encamped in false Eecnrity, only seven 
miles from William's army, killed or dispersed the detachment, and having loaded the 
cannons to the muzzle, he buried them muzzle down in the ground, and then laid trains 
communioating with a match, which was fired as he retreated. All the guns burst ; the 
explosion was terrible. Sir John Lanier had been dispatched with five hundred 
horsemen to prevent such a disaster, but he moved so slowly that he only arrived in 
eight of the detachment after the catastrophe. His efforts were in vain to intercept the 
return of Sarsfield's troops to Limerick."— Lamontagne's Gordon's '■'■ Eistoire 
d' Monde,'" ii. 479. 

* For a grand description of this legend see Victor Hiioo's majestic drama of " Les 
Surgraves,'' Part I, Scene 2, KiRi speaking, pageg 208-'9. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 333 

counter-fortifications, on points previously neglected; undue 
concentration of our troops on points already over-manned, 
met by a network enveloping us by them ; supineness in our 
camps, met by daring forays by tbeiQ ;* the boasted influence of 
our reserve artillery, counterbalanced by their availing them- 
selves of the respite to get up artillery even of greater calibre ; 
the reliance on further troops from the north, more than met by 
reinforcements of two to one, by their recalling troops from the 
south. Indeed, every thing so betokens fear on the part of the 
general commanding, and the enemy show themselves so 
emboldened that, with the numbers crowding up ai'ound us, I 
am puzzled to divine the next act of the drama. It loill he 
either another inexpUcahle evacuation^ or the suffocation of this 
army hy the seizure of our cominunications when least expected. 
The enemy wish us to attack. McClellan has proved by his 
fortifications that he is feeble. We are surrounded in front by 
a cordon of troops and forts. It is true that they will fail if 
they attack us ; but, if they do not do that, they will leave 
enough troops in our front, and crossing the Chickahominy, cut 
us of from our lines of communication and sustenance.'''' \ 

With the modesty that is not often found, except with true 
courage, Gen. Kearny does not give, in this connection, the 



* " Bloody contticte,with doubtfiil issues, daily occurred to obtain pro vision, which could 
only be secured for either army sword in hand. A convoy, that the Imperialists were ex- 
pecting from a distance, coming up under an escort of 1000 men, was pounced upon on the 
way by the Swedes, who, uijder cover of the darkness of the night, secured it for them- 
pelves ; and one fine morning 12,000 cattle driven into the Nuremberg camp in despite, 
while 1000 wagons laden with bread were of necessity burned to save them from recap- 
ture. A more serious affair of the same kind near Altdorf also terminated to the 
advantage of the Swedish cavalry, who routed several Austrian regiments with the loss 
of about 400 men. Wallenstein, seeing these many checks and increasing difficulties, 
repented that he had declined to hazard a battle at the beginning; but the increased 
strength of the Swedish camp now rendered the thought of making an attack upon it 
impracticable. The king acted steadily upon his favorite axiom, "that a good general 
with a small army could hardly ever be obliged to fight, if he acted with due vigilance, 
forethought and activity."— Gen. Gust's "'■Lives of (he Wan-iors,'' 1600-1G48, vol. 1, 
page 26S. 

" Nothing is done while something still remains to be done," 

+ Bat not alone as a mere strategist or military leader did Kearnt shine, as extract 
after extract from Chaplain Mark's Peninsular Campaign, as taken in connection 
with other facts, abundantly testifies. For these the reader is referred to that most 
interesting book, as too lengthy for quotation in this work. 



334 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

speech reported by an officer of Hooker's, a rival division, 
wliich he made to the Twentieth Indiana. 

" It should be preserved," says Major W B , " as a 

gem of battle eloquence, equal, in pith and brevity, to Starke's 
famous words at Bennington." 

The enemy had come in and taken a section of a battery on 
the left of the position held by Kearny, who saw at a glance 
the extreme importance of recovering that part of the field. 
Dashing up to the first regiment he saw in line, he threw him- 
self at their head and shouted : " Twentieth Indiana, those guns 
must be retaken, or Phil. Kearny loses his other arm ! " 
The guns were retaken. 

On the 25th of June, a reconnoissance in force on the 
Union left brought on quite a smart engagement, in which 
Kearny, originally sent to protect the left flank of the 
movement, participated with his usual gallantry. In half 
an hour after the skirmish fire began, Kearny and Hooker's 
divisions had become quite actively engaged, and the collision 
gradually assumed the magnitude of what our people styled the 
Battle of Oak Grove,* or "The Orchard," or "The Peach 
Orchard," or the " Second Battle of Fair Oaks." " This," says 
Chaplain Marks, " was the first of those grand and never-to-be- 
forgotten contests called the " Seven Days' Battles." 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION. THIRD CORPS, ) 
Gamp Near Seven Pines, June 28th, 1862. ) 

Sir— I have the honor to forward the reports of my three brigades for the 
skirmishing of the 25th instant. 

During these engagements I remained at my redan, and only took personal 
part in the same until toward evening. 

I remained at bivouac with Birney's brigade the entire night. 

I have particularly to commend General Robinson and Colonel Brown, 
Twentieth Indiana Volunteers, Colonel Hats, Sixty-third Pennsylvania, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Bachia, Eighty-seventh New York Volunteers, but not so 

* The attacking column consisted of Grover'e, Sickles' and Robinson's brigades. 
General Kearny was sent to protect the left flank, and the Nineteenth Massachusetts, 
Colonel Hicks, was ordered to advance and protect the right." * * * * "In half an 
hour the skirmish extended along the entire line, and Kearny and Hooker's divisions 
were engaged in the liveliest action ; and soon, from the arrival of fresh troops on both 
sides, the engagement assumed the magnitude of a battle."— Chaplain Mark's Penin- 
sula Campaign, page 222. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 335 

much his regiment; also, the firm, soUd appearance of the First New York 
Volunteers, as arriving at night and taking up position. 

The casualties have been principally in the Twentieth Indiana and Sixty- 
third Pennsylvania. 
I refer you to Brigade reports. 

Eespectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) P. KEARNT, 

Brigadier- General Commanding Division. 
To Captain C. McKeeveb, 

Chief of Staff Third Corps. 

" On the very evening of 25th of June, McClellan was 
awakened from the dream of rejoicing over what he thought the 
successful result of his preparations for the advance of his whole 
army — as inaugurated by Heintzelman's gaining ground on 
the left — by the tidings that the right of his long straggling line 
of twenty miles was menaced — as Kearny foretold four days 
previously would be the case — in flank and rear, by masses of 
the enemy ; that his communications could no longer be main- 
tained. The rebel generals seemed about to repeat the mag- 
niiicent stroke of Frederic and of Seydlitz at Rosbach, by 
crushing the right of the Union line, some twenty miles long, 
rolling the whole army up, in upon itself, and ' bowling ' it away 
to destruction." 

McClellan's panegyrist at a subsequent date, and accuser at 
this time, observes, in 1866, that McClellan's project of making 
a countei'-move, which he looked forward to on the 25th, had an 
illustrious precedent in Turenne's counter to Montecuculi in 
IGVi (1675). This criticism overlooks the observations of 
Napoleon in regard thereto. If Turenne made a brilliant 
move, his " position was bad," and he laid himself open to a 
fatal blow. Had MontecuCitli been as enterprising as the rebels, 
and " employed six hours of the night in marching " direct 
upon the bridge which constituted Turenne's line of retreat, 
that blow would have ended the campaign. The Imperial com- 
mander threw away those six hours, and his chance of success 
was gone. McClellan was in the habit of throwing away days 
instead of hours, and had never profited by an o^jportunity. 
He had taken no advantage of Kearny's brilliant move, 9th- 
ipth March, which drove the rebels from IManassas, but turned 



336 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

back after a profitless fatiguing military promenade,* After 
Williamsburg, lie had gone to sleep, as it were, and after 
Fair Oaks, when he might have followed the defeated rebels 
into Richmond, again he did nothing. He was yet to enjoy 
other favors of fortune, and to reject them. Forgetting "that. 
Fortune is a woman, avail yourself of her favor while she is in 
the humor ; beware that she does not change through resent- 
ment of your neglect." After the victory of Malvern Hill, as 
honorable to the corps commanders as Hohenlinden in 1800 to 
MoEEAU, and, taking into consideration all its antecedents, very 
much the same sort of battle, he did worse than he ever had 
done ; after South Mountain it was the same ; at Antietam, 
worst of all. 

Is it likely that a commander who left everything to his sub- 
ordinates, and seemed incapable of combined action, could have 
conceived a plan which would have necessitated a simultaneous 
movement which demanded the manipulation of another army 
besides his own, such as he subsequently claimed was the inten- 
tion of the extension of his right, which led to the engagement 
at Hanover Court House. The public has a right to estimate 
a man by his employment or abuse of opportunities. From one 
exemplification of character, you may judge all, says the proverb. 



* Otto Heusinger, in his '■\AmerikaniscHe KriegsbUder,'" furnishes some curious 
facts in regard to the hasty flight of the rebels from Manassas, 10th-12th March, 1SG2. 
This author served four and a half years in a German Regiment, and belonged in 
1861-2 to Blenker's Division, which took part in McClellan's military promenade 
through that March mud. At page IS, he says (11th March. — Annanclale) : "Here the 
enemy had his farthest outposts " (nearest Washington). * * " Scattered muskets 
and camp-equipage, or utensils bore witness to the hasty withdrawal of the enemy." 
Page 10 (15th March, Fairfax Court Rouse), " We found plenty, of flrst-rate gaiters, 
which we appropriated." " The enemy at this time were perfectly supplied with every 
requisite." " The enemy had withdrawn very hastily from these fearful fortifications 
at Centreville and Manassas." Page 21, " No one could have desired a more comfort- 
able soldiering than the Confederates enjoyed, as testified by their rough, but well- 
constructed log-houses and incalculable remains of food and camp utensils, broken 
bottles &c." Pao-es 21-22, "Burned ties, or timbers, broken and bent rails lay on the 
route of the advancing column ; likewise railroad locomotives amid a chaos of shat- 
tered cars, while the store-houses on the railroad, partially destroyed and surrounded 
by stove-in, half-filled barrels of pork and rice, were the best proof of the wild flight of 
the Confederates." "About 4 p. m. we passed Manassas, the strong bulwark of the 
enemy. This hamlet, consisting of ten houses, was extremely formidably fortified ; its 
lofty bastions seemed almost beyond capture, and we could not comprehend the flight 
of the Confederates out of such strong entrenchments." Phil. Kearnt, notwith- 
standing, did hurry them out in his peculiar way. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GEJTERAL PHILIP KBAENT. 337 

To believe that McClkllan calculated on utilizing a junction 
with McDowell was to reverse the proverb, and conceive an 
act of energy excei^tional to a whole career, characterized \yy 
almost timid caution. One remark further presents the most 
extraordinary phase : McClellan was always asking for very 
large reinforcements, and, notwithstanding some were fui*nished, 
could not be induced to move forward decidedly ; and then, 
when he was ordered to withdraw from Harrison's Landing, he 
promised that if they would only give him an additional force, 
small in proportion to his jjrevious demands, he would advance 
ou Richmond at once. 

The battle of Mechanicsville, '26th — a glorious success for 
Reynolds and Seymour, says Carleton,* who fought it alone, 
repulsing double their numbers — seemed to have stunned 
McClellan. On the 24th, he had planned an aggj'essive, which 
was apparently inaugurated in Oak Grove on the 25th. On the 
26th, this aggressive had degenerated into a pure defensive. 
On that night he thought of nothing but retreat. The darkness 
of the ensuing nights of the 2Vth and 28th was lighted up by 
the bonfire of his stores. West Point went up in flames on the 
night of the 28th, and it might be said, that, by their light, he 
commenced the withdrawal of the heavy guns and baggage, 
and changed his base in a manner which bore all the features 
of a flight. 

On Friday, 27th June, the attack upon our right was re- 
newed in the battle of Cold Harbor, as it is styled by the 
rebels, or Gaines' Mills (Gaines' Farm, or Ellison's Mills), as it 
is better known to us. In this Kearny took no part. The 
victory was a formal one for the rebels, but was pixrchased at a 
fearful cost. This, the third of the Seven Days' Battles, was 
the first of those six, styled in error, seven days' contests which 
was actually fighting in retreat. 

By six A. M., 28th June, the whole Union army was on the 
south side of the Chickahominy. So far from this concentra- 
tion being a disadvantage, if McClellan, on that day, or the 

* " The united efforts of the two Hills and General Bkaxch were not sufficient to 
dislodge the two. brigades which held the position. Griffin, Maetindale and Meade 
were ready to lend assistance, hat were not engaged. Griffin only fired a few shots." 
— " Following (he Flag,'' 129. 
43 



338 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GEXERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ensiling one, 29th June, had struck at Richmond, the city must 
have fallen in five hours. 

This retreat, of which so much has been made by McClel- 
lan's admirers, was one of the simplest of military problems. 

McCLELLAisr was too slow and uncertain to project and execute 
any plan that would be in accordance with the first principles 
of war. On the 2'7th of June his grand army was still astride 
the Chickahominy, and Gaines' Mill was Fair Oaks over again, 
the attack being this time upon the half of the army on the 
north bank. As at Fair Oaks, utter rout and wide disaster was 
prevented only by the arrival, after sundown, of fresh brigades 
from the other side, and by the wing of that dusky angel that 
has saved so many a hard pressed army — Night. " Welcome 
night wrapped his shattered wrecks in its preserving darkness." 
Under its friendly cover, the wreck of the right wing moved 
across that fatal swamp, and the morning of the 2Sth found the 
whole army where it should have been one month before, on 
the Richmond side of the Chichahominy. 

But, by this time, its commander had relinquished the offen- 
sive, and was aiming, not for success, but merely laboring to 
keep bad enough from becoming the worst possible. In the 
scenes that followed, McClellajt had no division commander 
more eifective, prompt or trustworthy for a critical moment 
than General Kearny. * 

Tlie army had only to fall back from fifteen to twenty-five miles 
through a country which favored the movement. The rebels 

* " In noticini? the bravery of all the generals that have taken part in the late battles 
on the Peninsula, one of the foremost in rank is General Keabnt. Words are inade- 
qnate to express the daring and bravery of this general. He is always foremost in the 
fray ; and many times was he observed with his bridle in his teeth, while his right arm 
(the only one he has), with a sword at the end of it, was cutting and slashing at a furi- 
ous rate among groups of the enemy. The rebels styled him the " One-armed Devil ; " 
and, after the battle of Williamsburg, I was told by rebel prisoners, during a conver- 
sation with them, and on the night of the light, he was closely watched by them and 
their officers, and that some of their most accurate sharpshooters were ordered to draw 
a bead on that '• one-armed devil there ; " yet they could not see him fall. Finally, a 
rebel colonel ordered his entire regiment (according to their statement) to withdr.aw 
their fire from everything else and center it upon that officer with one arm ; the ordor 
was obeyed, and the entire regiment (the 5th Carolina) belched forth a volley at the one- 
armed officer ; but he was protected by a just cause and an All-seeing Eye above, and 
was not seen to fall from his saddle. Such men are too precious to their country, and 
in the eyes of their God, to fall by a rebel's bullet." — (A^'ewspapcr Slip.) 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 339 

had greater difficulties to overcome than the Union forces. The 
former were absolutely inferior in numbers, and the latter had 
only to protect their rear and one flank, their left. If any ques- 
tion of the slightest magnitude required solution, it was the 
saving of the artillery and trains. There are plenty of exam- 
ples of vastly superior perils overcome under immeasurably 
greater disadvantages. A curious parallel may be recalled, 
which occurred during Ihe " Thirty Years' War," when, in 
August, 1623, Christian of Brunswick, with an army com- 
posed almost entirely of raw recruits, " fought almost inces- 
santly in retreat throughout three nights and two days, over 
nearly thirty miles of river and marsh-intersected country." 
Eight times the Brunswickers reformed their lines of battle 
under an artillery fire, whose multiplied discharges, maintained 
with unusual fierceness for the epoch, " made the earth tremble, 
and the old walls they sought to defend quiver and shake again." 
All this, too, in the face of a superior veteran army led by Tilly, 
the best general of the day. This prolonged contest is known 
as the Battle of Lohn, or Stadt-Lohn. 

Frederick's retreat in the third camj^aign (that in 1V58), 
of the Seven Years' War, after he had lost all his artillery at 
Hochkirch, is another notable example. 

The retreat of Moreau through the Black Forest, in 1796, 
very much lauded at the time ; that, again, of Sir John Moore, 
which culminated in his victory of Corunna, in 1808, greatly 
admired by Napier ; that of Wellington, within the lines of 
Torres Viedras, in 1810 ; that of Massena, out of Portugal, 
before 'Wellington, in 1811, were incomparably greater,* 

How much more glorious, although in miniature, Clausel's 
retreat from his repulse at Constantine in 1836. 

On Saturday, 28th June, there was an afiair at Golding's 
Farm, in which the rebels were repulsed with so much facility 
that they were actually deceived for a moment as to the reality 
of the withdrawal of the Union army.f 

* A better simile, perhaps, is the Seven Days' Battles, in Retreat, of Freiburg, 3d-9th 
August, 1&44, which progressed and terminated very much like our own " Summer 
Week of Fighting," 25th June to the 1st July, 1862 ; Stonewall Jackson representing 
the impetuous Conde. — Gust's "■ Lives of the Wan-iors," 1811-1675, i. 13. 

t General Keabnt crossed the swamp one mile higher than the usual road, at Brack. 
ett's Ford, and about sundown had secured all his trains and artillery; and, after 



340 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

On "the battle Sunday," 29th June, an engagement took 
place at Savage Station. In this Kearny took a prominent part. 

On Monday, 30th June, occurred the battle of Frazier's Farm 
(or Nelson's Farm, or Glendale), or New Market Cross-Roads. 
This resulted in a victory for the Union forces. " The rebel 
troops became a mob, and fled in terror toward Richmond." 
A mournful wail was heard from Glendale during that long dis- 

advanclng in eecnrity a short distance, his scouts fell upon the enemy's pickets, and 
there commenced a very brisk firing in the woods in front. The reconnoissance made 
it certain that the Confederate forces were near us, and that an attempt to advance 
along the road would be hotly contested, and might bring on a general engagement. 
General Kearnt drew up his men in the order of battle until after night, and then, in 
the darkness, sought to join the other divisions of the army. I have oiten heard the 
men and officers of the army speak of that night's march in the gloomy forest, where 
nothing could be seen but the flash of the fire-fly. The uncertainty of the way, the near 
presence of tlie enemy, the thunder of the battle not far from them, made this a night 
long to be remem.bered, and the most thoughtless were impressed with sad anticipa- 
tions of to-morrow. * * « 

To guard against the success of such a demonstration (a flank movement), strong 
bodies of our troops were massed at important points on the several roads. On those 
leading from Eichmoud, General Heintzelman, with the divisi(ms of Generals Hooker, 
Kearnt, Sedgwick and McCall, were placed. Our trains and the advancing troops were 
to pass over the road to Turkey Bend or Malvern Hill, called Quaker Road. This road 
cuts at right angles the various highways running from Richmond east, and therefore 
is the great highway to James river from Savage Station. Along this road all the artil- 
lery troops and wagons of the army had to pass. It was the plan of the enemy, as soon 
as they discovered the course we were taking, to cut in twain our army, and to drive 
back and capture such portion as could be severed from the main body. 

Franklin and Sumner held the rear, Slocum was on the left, and Heintzelman on the 
right. Hooker occupied a position on the Quaker Road ; to his right, McCall, and again 
Kearnt the extreme right. Those various divisions were thrown into these positions 
to protect our army, seeking its new base, and to repel the efi"orts of the enemy to 
break through our lines — a catastrophe which would have been fatal to all that portion 
thus cut off from the main trunk. * * * 

The conduct of General Kearnt in this battle was the admiration of all his corps. 
He was everywhere directing in all movements, imparting, by his presence and clear- 
eightedness, the most determined courage to his men. Wherever the danger was 
greatest, there he pressed and carried with him a personal power that was equal to a 
reinforcement. In a pre-eminent degree, he possessed that military prescience, or 
anticipation of what was coming, and the point of an enemy's attack, which has char- 
acterized every great man who has risen to distinction in the art of war. * * * 

General Heintzelman was commander of the third army corps, all the regiments of 
which were engaged in this battle. For him all the officers and men had the deepest 
respect. He was always cool, and in danger perfectly self possessed. A man of great 
■kindness of heart, considerate of his men, temperate, wisely discriminating and just. 
There was felt in him, as a soldier, the utmost confidence ; without any of those 
knightly and brilliant qualities which made the names of Hooker and Kearnt the syn- 
onyms of chivalry and daring, he was brave without rashness, and life-saving without 
imbecility, dignified in demeanor, yet easily approached, and the friend of every soldier. 
— Chaplain Marks' " Peninsula Campaign," pages 273-883. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEBAL PHILIP KEARNY, 341 

mal night, lit up by the red glare of torches flitting to and fro 
as the rebels gathered up their wounded. On this occasion, 
Kkaent held about the center of our line. 

The night before Malvern, that is, during the fierce conflict 

of Glendale, says Major-General B , Kearny had one of 

those escapes which must have led him to suppose that he bore 
a charmed life, exactly the same as occurred to him on the eve 
of Solferino, and cost him his life in the gloaming of Chantilly. 
He rode out, supposing McCall's line was a prolongation of his 
own to the left ; McCall had not brought his men up, and 
Kearny dashed directly into a body of deployed troops, firing 
briskly. He perceived at once that the skirmishing was after 
a manner diflerent from our own, and made up his mind that 
he was in the midst of the rebels. Just then an officer came 
up, mistaking him for a rebel general, and asked what he should 
do now. Keaeny, looking down at him severely, answered, 
" Do, Sir ! do as I have always directed you to do in such a 
case, Sir ! " turned and rode quietly away, expecting every 
moment that the mistake would be discovered, and that he 
would be shot.* 

During the retreat, Kearny had relieved another division, 
and assumed a position for the night. With the eye of a soldier 
find a general, he had posted his artillery and distributed their 
supports, and now surveyed the approaches and his dispositions 
with the calm satisfaction of one who felt himself the master of 
the situation. Remember that this was in the midst of the tur- 
moil and difficulties of (and such) a retreat. After this survey, 
he turned to an officer near by and remarked : " If they (the 

* The most wonderful stories are related of the brave B^eabnt, who litterally bears 
the character of a " Salamander.'''' He was to be seen with his one arm, and holding 
his bridle in his teeth, everywhere during the hotest ot the fight. At one time he came 
very near being taken at White Oak Swamp. He was sarronnded by no fewer than 
thirty of the rebels, but fairly cut his way through them — turned and asking if they 
thought " he looked the kind of man to fall into the^r hands ? " The men all love him 
for his undaunted bravery, but complain a little of hj^ ^rgettlng that everybody is not 
made of cast-iron like himself. 

General Heihtzelmal performed his duty faithfhlly and honestly, while the com- 
manders of the divisions of the corps (Generals K»a»i^ and Hooker) have that place 
In the public estimation which they have earned by many gallant and heroic actions, 
and which renders it unnecessary for me to do aught, except pay this tribute to the 
memory of one and the rising fame of the other." - {Jsftwspaper Slips sent to Author.) . 



342 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GBNERAL PHILIP KEAKNT. 

rebels) can drive me out of this jiosition, tliey can call me a 

Jersey ." The coucluding word was more forcible than 

orthodox. It was such speeches as these, indicating impertur- 
bable self-reliance and faith in himself and men, that gave the 
troops courage and confidence in times of doubt and peril. 

The reader must have remarked the testimony of General 
Wainwright in regard to Kearny's self-possession and power 
of rapid, clear and conclusive thinking to the point under the 
heaviest and most stinging fire. In this imperturbable actiA^e- 
minded physical phlegm he was only surpassed by his 
own fiery, headlong activity when a change of circumstances 
demanded a complete substitution of antagonistic characteris- 
tics. Such a combination of qualities, however strange they 
may appear to ordinary readers, should not be so to military 
students. Gustavus, Turenne, Toestenson, Saxe, Frede- 
ric, ZiethejS", Seydlitz, Bluchee (these last three should 
be always named together),* Massena, Soult, Radetzici, 
all possessed an aggressive power which was only surpassed 
by their resistive might when the time called for the one or 
the other in the superlative degree. From the earliest times, 
all grand types of the Anglo-Saxon, the Teutonic, or, more 
properly speaking, the Theotiscan race, have proved their 
greatness by the display of an attack like the lightning, and a 
resistance like a cube of granite, which was one of the emblems 
of the great Gustavus, 

In the finest specimen of the Saxon, Harold, who succumbed 
to fate, slain, but not vanquished, at Hastings, there is a perfect 
exemplification of that fiery, nervous "forward" which is 
ascribed to the Celt, and that stubborn, fearless, anchored, or 
rooted, steadfastness wliioh should render immortal the Dutch 
infiintry of Fleurusf of Almanza, in fact, throughout King 
William Ill's wars ; of the English infantry of Fontenoy down 
to Waterloo ; and of the Prussian infantry, especially the Pom- 
eranian, of Frederic* If we have a real portrait of Harold, 
and not an ideal one. In him the general reader could recognize 



* Bibske's Blucher, iii-IV. 

tRotfssET's "Louvois" TV, 403, etc., worthy examination to learn what a good 
infantry, when trua to itselA cao Achieve, even amid disaster. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 343 

Keaent; Harold, so mighty in his onset, as at York victoii- 
ous, so unshakable in his defense at Hastings, until an arrow 
thi'ough the head, shot at random, ended his glorious life, just 
as one bullet out of a volley set free the spirit of Keaent at 
Chantilly. 

But it was not only on the battle-field that Keaeny displayed 
the superiority of his mind. He was prophetic in his common 
sense, and in his prescience he always found a reason and a solu- 
tion of what seemed, to lesser men, temerity. 

During the six days' retreat and the seven days' fighting, 
Kearny seems to have been the only general whose foresight 
is demonstrated by recorded words; who perceived that the 
danger arose from moral feebleness in the direction which could 
be only met by extra exertion and provision on the part of the 
subordinates. Thus, he was always on the alert to make him- 
self perfectly acquainted with the roads, so that, if our move- 
ments were checked or choked on one, his troops could be 
extricated on another, just as nature turns the current of the 
blood by anastomosis into a new channel, when the regular one 
is severed or closed by accident or violence. No one knew bet- 
ter than he the necessity of studying the topography of a coun- 
try, since a battery on a commanding knoll, or a little wood 
well slashed, or a gulley with an abrupt bank wisely oceui>ied 
and well defended, might stop the march of a victorious coliuun. 
He also knew that his men must, in such a rapid retreat (ujme- 
cessary, as it turned out, as regarded the enemy, compulsory as 
regarded their general-in-chief), must carry with them and upon 
them the means to feed themselves and to feed the fight. Thus, 
when he fell back from his original position on the railroad, his 
last care was to see that each man of his division had upon him 
not only the regular quantity of ammunition, but one hundred, 
extra cartridges per rnan stowed away upon his person. What 
was the result ? Keaeny never was driven^ and, when in the 
White Oak Swamp, everything depended upon a continuous, 
well-sustained, heavy fire, hig lines were able to respond to the 
exigencies of the crisis, not out of their cartridge-boxes, not out 
of their ordinary supply, but out of the extra quantity mth 
which the prescience of Keaeny had loaded their pockets and 



SM: BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

tJieir haversacks. An officer of wonderfully tenacious memory, 
who was in Heintzelman's corps, says that nothing saved the 
Union army in the White Oak Swamp bnt those hundred 
rounds of cartridges per man, insisted upon and seen to by 
Kearjty. 

Tuesday, 1st July, our "Boys in Blue" were drawn up on 
the pleasant estate of Dr. Carter, known as Malvern Hill, and 
there the Army of the Potomac won a Hohenlinden victory 
which, under any other general, would have been improved, and 
resulted in the capture of Richmond. Here Porter's corps 
constituted the extreme left of our line, whose shape resembled 
that of a bill-hook. Next to Porter's came the division of 
CoFCH, then Kearny, then Hooker; to the right of these, 
Sumner's corps, then Smith, then Slocum. 

The posting of our troops on that day was intrusted to one, 
of whom a friend — who served under him for many years — 
writes thus, confirming the report of every one who knew him : 
" General A. A. Humphreys was once Assistant in charge of 
the Coast Survey office, and his survey and report of the Mis- 
sissippi river placed him, scientifically, at the apex of his corps 
and of the army, and, strange to say, after he got command of 
a fighting column, his courage and energy were equal to his 
luental attainments." 

The following is worthy of incoi*poration, as the facts are from 
the pen of one who greatly admired Kearny, and spoke of him 
in the warmest terms — more particularly as it furnishes a com- 
plete account of the posting of our troops at Malvern Plill : 

General A. A. Humphreys* posted the army at Malvern, with 
the exception of Porter's corps (the Fifth), and Couch's division 
of the Third Corps, which were already in position when he arrived 
on the ground. The Head-Quarters of the army were at Hax- 
all's Landing. About two o'clock a. m.. General McClellan 
sent for General Humphreys, to inform him that Sumner's and 
Hetntzelman's corps were at Malvern, but not in position — ■ 
(Feankxin, an hour or so later, came in toward Haxall's with 
his coi'ps ; Keyes' corps was already there) — and requested 
Humphreys to proceed thither at daylight, and post the troops 

* See Maj.-Gen. Barnard's " Peninsula Campaign," Note 21, page 91. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 345 

as massively as he could. General Humphreys had been over 
Malvern the day before, and over the ground to the right of it. 
This he did, sending ujj some of Ketes' troops that he found 
coming toward Haxall's. He saw General Porter, and, accom- 
panied by General Hunt, commanding the Artillery Reserve of 
the Army, rode at once to Couch's Division, on the right of the 
Fifth Corps. The Fifth Corps was well posted ; whether 
trenched or not was not observed. Then Humphreys saw Gen- 
eral Couch, and discussed with him the position as they rode 
over the ground. Some part of Couch's ground was slightly 
trenched. 

At his right, extending down toward the enemy a considera- 
ble distance, Avass a thick grove. This Humphreys endeavored 
to have slashed, as he believed the enemy would use it as a cover 
in attack, which they did. The force he sent for, to have it 
slashed, was otherwise occupied, and, as the next best thing, the 
woods were occupied by Couch as well as it could be. From 
Couch's position, he rode along the ground and selected the 
position for Heintzelman's and Sumner's Corps to occupy. 
By this remark, it is not intended to convey the idea that he 
went into the details of the ground ; that, of course, was left to 
the commanders of troops. He sent the directions by aids to 
Kearny and Hooker, as Heintzelman was not on the ground, 
but had gone to see General McClellan, as had also Sumner. 
It would appear that neither Heintzelman's nor Sumner's 
ground was trenched, except a small part of the right of the 
latter. General Barnard joined General Humphreys in the 
course of the ride, and went over that part of the ground with 
him which Kearny's and Hooker's Divisions occupied. They 
parted, and General Barnard joined General McClellan about 
half-past eight a. m., as General McClellan rode through the 
ground which Kearny afterward occupied. General Barnard 
continued with General McClellan to the Head-Quarters camp ; 
and General Humphreys, with General Hunt, continued select- 
ing the ground for the line of battle, advising with Hunt for 
the artillery positions. 

They finally reached a point where it was neces'sary to descend 
from the hill of Malvern, where the position or country was 
44 



346 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

open, and enter low wooded ground. Here General Hunt left 
General Humphreys, and returned to his Reserve Artillery ; 
and the latter sent word to Porter, or Sumner, or to the latr 
ter's division commanders, designating the ground they were 
to occupy. General McClellan passed General Humphreys 
on the hill, at the distance of two hundred or three hundred 
yards, so that he did not speak to him. He appeared to be con- 
versing at one time with Sumner and Heintzelman about the 
ground, as they stopped and pointed in different directions. It 
was not until General Humphreys had reached the vicinity of 
Haxall's that he had determined what grounds ought to be occu- 
pied between Malvern and the river. At Haxall's he saw Gen- 
eral McClellan, told him what he had done, and what he 
proposed to do. He also saw General Franklin, and had some 
conversation as to how his corps should be posted ; then passed 
to the corps, and saw General W. F. Smith ; pointed out a mill- 
dam where his right could rest, and gave him the compass 
direction by which to extend to his left through low wooded 
ground so as to unite with the troops on the hill; General 
Slocum's left (if memory serves) joined Smith's right, and the 
latter division closed in on the river, on the extreme Union • 
right. Peck's division, of Keyes' Corps, supported on the 
right. He then rode rapidly up to Malvern, the artillery fire 
having begun, and went to see about connecting Smith's troops 
with Sumner's, With some difficulty he (Humphreys) got Sum- 
ner (after taking him over the ground) to extend his right to 
meet Smith. Humphreys rode with Sumner's extending troops, 
and, as they entered a field on one side from the woods, Smith's 
troops entered it on the other, from the same woods, the two lines 
of troops being as exactly identical in direction as if they had 
been moving on a li?ie marked out by instruments. Humphreys 
had not ridden over the line before, though he had examined 
the ground in the vicinity closely. 

The exact coincidence was, of course, accidental, but it was 
somewhat remarkable.* Now, all the line through this wooded 

*Snch remarkable accuracy of direction and tinj^ cone*itiit^, It is eald, the chief 
excellence of the Prussian Infantry. Precisioil and punctuality were the'pKncipal 
causes of the success of the followers 0/ the Black Eagle during th^ " Seven 'S^eks' 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 347 

ground, from the brow of the hill to the right, on the river, was 
trenched, and near the river the ground was open, and Slocum's 
front was, probably, not at all trenched, or not entirely. Hum- 
phreys did not give it his attention, but sent Major Duane, of 
the Engineers, with his battalion, to slash in front of the mill- 
pond on Smith's right, as a main road, entered at this point from 
the crossing of White-Oak-Swamp-Creek, the road by which 
Franklin's troops came in. Having completed the line, Hum- 
phreys returned to Malvern Hill, where the cannonading was 
going on, but no infantry fire had as yet begun. He remained 
on the fronts of Heintzelman and Sumner during the greater 
part of the rest of the day, as there were indications of an attack 
on Sumner's right and Smith's left, a weak part of the line. 
Near this weak position, however, stood three of the hardest 
fighting men of the army, a trio, known as " Fighting Phil," 
" Fighting Joe " and " Fighting Dan," lions at bay, the first 
since " dead on the field of honor ; " the second, afterward 
severely wounded, holding his ground under a like desperate 
attack at Antietam ; the third losing his leg, a year and a day 
subsequently, stemming the fearful onset of Longstreet 
and saving the position at Gettysburg. When the infantry 
fire began to be sharp, or rather when the skirmishing 
began to be heavy, on Couch's front, he concluded that 
the battle was about to begin in earnest. This was about 
three and a half or four, not later than four* and a half p. m. 
From certain indications during the' morning, he inferred that 
the fight would not begin until the afternoon, and had so ex- 
pressed himself to General McClellajst, to whom Humphreys 
now sent a brief dispatch, stating that he believed the fight was 
about commencing in earnest, and rode to Porter's position to 
meet him. McClellan came up there shortly afterward, receiv- 

War" in 1866. Brev. Brig.-G«u. W. P. W- — ., who commanded the "JBth N. Y. V. in 
1862-3, and studied hie profession as a Boldier in Prussia, often related his astonishment 
at the precision of the movemests during the grand military manoeuvres around Berlin. 
He Mid that he believed that, if a Prussian line of battle encountered an obstacle in 
their advance, and had to break to pass it, although the two wings continued on, sep- 
arated and out of sight of each other for the distance of a mile, they would come 
togjakier with as much accuracy as if the line had remained unbroken, with the flanks 
in contact throughout the whole interval. This (if remembrance is correct) shows the 
reliability of the Prnesian drill. 



348 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ing his note just before reaching that point where Couch had 
his fight. 

On the 1st July, at Malvern Hill, the Army of the Potomac 
won a Hohenlinden victory. This furious conflict, so destructive 
to the assailants, did not cease until about nine p. m., having 
lasted over five hours after it grew into the magnitude of a 
grand battle. The rebels were finally " driven to the shelter 
of ravines, and woods, and swamps, utterly broken and despair- 
ing." 

The worst of the story now remains to be told. After the 
Army of the Potomac had won such a victory, and the exulting 
troops looked forward to harvesting the fruits of their bloody 
toils, orders were given to retreat to Harrison's Landing. Then, 
and not till then, the bonds of discipline seemed to be unloosed, 
and a disorderly rush ensued, which justified the remark that, 
"in the storm and darkness, the Union Army fled from a victory 
as though it had been a rout." * 

That night a circumstance occurred which recalled an incident 
connected with the defeat of the French army at Oudenarde, ia 
1708. Prince Eugene says: "The darkness of the night pre- 
vented our pursuit, and enabled me to execute a scheme for 
increasing the number of our prisoners. I sent out drummers 
in different directions, with orders to beat the retreat after the 
French manner, and posted my French Refugee oflicers, with 
directions to shout on all sides : — Here Picardy ! Here Cham- 
pagne ! Here Piedmont ! The French soldiers flocked in, and 

* " On the evening of Saturday, the 24th November, the King (James 11) called a coan- 
cil of war" (in his camp at Salisbury, when in the presence of the Prince of Orangb 
and the tenure of the English crown depended on the result, just as the fate of Rich- 
mond hung on McClellan's decision on the eve of Malvern). " Fetersham, the Royal 
Commander-in-Chief, expressed his opinion that it was expedient for his Majesty to 
fall back. Dundbb earnestly upheld a contrary opinion, and entreated James to allow 
him to march at once and attack the Prince of Orange. 

•' Then out spoke gallant Claverhonse, 

And his soul thrill'd wild and high, 
And he show'd the King his subjects. 

And he pray'd him not to fly." 

The King decided for a retreat. The camp broke up at Salisbury, with all the confta- 
elon of a flight." The result was, James lost his throne, and William, Prince of Orange, 
became King of England. -General Hon. Sir Edward Gust's "Lives of the Warriors,''* 
2d Series, vol. I, page 239. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 349 

I made a good harvest of them ; we took in all about seven 
thousand." * 

In oui- own case, after Mah^ern, the troops were intermingled 
to such a degree that an eye witness, an officer of Hooker's 
division, states that corps, division, brigade and regimental 
staff officers were stationed at certain points to disentangle the 
snarled skein and reassemble under their proper commanders, 
in designated localities, the armed and uniformed flood which 
w\as flowing multitudinously and incoherently to shelter itself 
under the broadsides of the gunboats.f 

*As to condition of roads and line of retreat, '■'■one narrow pass" (Major W 

B 's gate), etc., see Sumner's Testimony; '■^Report of Committee on the Conduct of 

tlie War" part 1, l,3(i5; Compare Greeley II, 16", Text and Notes; Prof. John Wil- 
liam Draper's " Civil War in, America^'''' II. 414 and 415, quoting very strong language 
from the '■'■Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War;'''' Blake's " Three 
Years in the Armij" 113, etc. ; - De Trobriand, liSTC, says well: "Tliere (on Harri- 
son's Plantation) the Army rallied itself like a shipwrecked crew ; this army which had 
accomplished its own salvation of itself and despite of every obstacle ; " Chaplain 
Mark's " Peninsula Campaign,'''' 294; Chaplain Cudwobth's '■'■ First Massachtisetts" 233; 
Harper's '■'■ Hhtory of the Great Rebellion,''' Sn (1), etc.; Cooke's " Stonewall Jack- 
son, a Military Biography" 257, etc.; Major-General Barnard's " Peninsular Carrij- 
paign" Note 22 (to page 47), page 07, 1 3, etc., etc. 

t " The great battle of Malvern Hill was fought just to the right of us, and I can safely 
say that I have never yet heard any thing like the thunder of the artillery on that day ; 
it was one long, incessant roll ; when we left the place, the regiments were leaving in a 
panic ; wagons, sick and wounded, artillery, all in one jumble. ' Colonel Hiram ' 
(Durtea) would not take us into such a disorganized mass, and we waited for the road to 
clear ; he said he would rather face the whole Southern Confederacy than take Ms regiment 
into that rabble : and he backed his word by marching us down the road toward the rebel 
position, and there we were obliged to stay until the road was clear enougt to march 
on and keep our order. We experienced that day the hardest marching we have yet 
seen; in mud knee deep, fording streams to our middle, raining in torrents, and no 
place to sit down, unless we could sit in slush a foot deep ; and, to add to our misfor- 
tunes, there was a hard slippery bottom under the layer of slush, which made it as difB- 
cult to walk as if we were on ice, and we were continually falling down. Everybody 
and everything was wet through, and all tired out and half dead with the continued 
fatigue we had gone through."— Soldiers' Letters, edited by Ltdia Mintubn Post, pageB 
145, 146. 

" The battle was followed by a dark and stormy night, hiding the agony of thousands 
who lay on the blood-stained slopes of Malvern Hill, and in the copses and woodlands 
beyond. The rain came down in torrents. Neither Jackson, nor Longstreet, nor A. P. 
Hill, had taken part in this attack. It ^'ae made by D. H. Hill and Magruder. Some 
of their men slept through the tempestuous night within one hundred yards of the 
national batteries. With inexpressible astonishment, when day broke, they cast their 
eyes on the hill from which they had been so fearfully repulsed. Their enemy had van- 
ished—the volcano was silent. Among the Confederates, everything was in the most 
dreadful confusion. One of their Generals says : " The next morning by dawn I went 
to ask for orders, when I found the whole army in the utmost disorder ; thousands of 
straggling men were asking every passer-by for their regiments ; ambulances, wagons 



350 BIOGRAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" On the fleeing columns of the enemy," is the language of 
Chaplain Marks, " our batteries and gunboats continued to 
fire until ten o'clock at night, throwing the shells into the for- 
est ; for hours not a gun replied, and not even a courier dared 
to show himself in the open field. 

and artillery obstructing every road, and all together in a drenching rain presenting a 
scene of the most woeful and hcart-rendiug confusion." 

" Seventh Day, Wednesday, July 2d.— The retreat to Harrison's Landing, not even in 
the awful night that followed this awful battle, was not allotted to the national army. 
In less than two hours after the roar of the conflict had ceased, orders were given to 
resume the retreat and march to Harrison's Landing. At midnight the utterly exhausted 
soldierr, were groping their staggering way, along a road described as desperate, in all the 
confusion of a flseing and routed army. There was but one narrow pass through which 
the army could retreat, and, though the distance was only seven miles, it was not until 
the middle of the next day that Harrison's Landing was reached. The mud was actu- 
ally ankle deep all over the ground. The last of the wagons did not reach the selected 
site until after dark on the 3d of July. The rear guard then moved into their camp, and 
everything was secure. The paralyzed Confederates made a feeble pursuit, and, on the 
8th, went back to Richmond. Not without profound reluctance was the order to con- 
tinue the retreat to Harrison's Landing obeyed. General Keabnt, than whom there 
was not a more noble soldier in the whole army, exclaimed, in a group of indignant 
officers : " I, Philip Keaknt, an old soldier, enter my solemn protest against this order 
to retreat. We' ought,'instead of retreating, to follow up the enemy and take Richmond. 
And, in full view of all the responsibility of such a declaration, I say to you all that such 
an order can only be prompted by cowardice or treason." The French princes left the 
army early the next morning; its condition was to all appearances desperate. They 
went on board a steamer, and soon after departed for the north. The Committee of 
Congress on the Conduct of the War, referring to these events, declare " The retreat of 
the army from Malvern to Harrison's Bar was very precipitate. The troops, upon their 
arrival there, were huddled together in great confusion, the entire army being collected 
within a space of about three miles along the river. No orders were given the first day 
for occupying the heights which commanded the position, nor were troops so placed as to 
be able to resist an attack in force by the enemy, and nothing but a heavy rain, thereby 
preventing the enemy from bringing up their artillery, saved the army from destruc- 
tion." There had been sent to the Peninsula about one hundred and sixty thousand men 
(159,500). On the 3d of July, after this great army had reached the protection of the 
gunboats at Harrison's Landing, McClellan telegraphed to the Secretary of War, that he 
presumed he had not " over 50,000 men left with their colors." Hereupon President Lin- 
coln (July 7th) went to Harrison's Landing, and found that there were about 86,000 men 
there. * * * Thus ended the great, the ill-starred, the melancholy Peninsula expedition. 
It had no presiding genius, no controlling mind. There was an incredible sluggishness 
in the advance ; it actually gave the Confederates time to pass their Conscription Law 
and bring their conscripts into the field. The magnificent army, which had been organ- 
ized with so much pageantry at Washington, and moved down Chesapeake Bay with 
Eo much pomp, had sickened in the dismal trenches of Yorktown, and left thousands 
upon thousands in the dark glades and gloomy marshes of the blood-stained Chicka- 
horainy. It is the testimony of the corps commanders that they were left as best they 
might to conduct the fatal retreat. The General was importunately demanding of the 
government more troops, never using all that he had. Countless millions of money had 
been wasted ; tens of thousands of men had been destroyed. From the inception of the 
campaign to its end, military audacity was pitted against military timidity, promptness 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 351 

" The battle was over, but the cannonading still continued, 
and shells and balls of every kind tore through the woods in a 
ceaseless whirlwind of fury. In the mean time, thousands of 
Confederates fled in the wildest disorder from the scene, and 
hid themselves in swamps and hollows ; soldiers without guns, 
horsemen without caps and swords, came to the hospitals in the 
battle field of Glendale, ' two and a half miles from Malvern,' and 
reported that ' their regiments and brigades were swept aw^y, 
and that they alone were escaped to tell the tale.' It is one of 
the strangest things, in this week of disasters, that General 
McClellan ordered a retreat to Harrison's Landing, six miles 
down the James river, after we had gained so decided a victory. 
When this order was received by the impatient and eager 

againat procrastination, and the result conld not be other than it was. The Confeder- 
ates at Centreville, in inferior numbers, and in contemptible works, held McClellax 
at bay. They did the same at Yorktown, though he had much more than ten times 
their strength. -Prof. Draper's " Civil War in America" vol. II, page 413, etc. 

•' The country in the vicinity of Harrison's Landing has been aptly termed the " Eden 
of Virginia; " but, when the army of McClellan gathered itself together the morning 
after the terrible battle of Malvern Hill, and moved toward the Lauding, the ripening 
fields of wheat and corn, in all their golden luxuriance, were trampled under foot, and 
the beautiful picture of plenty and peace passed like a mirage from the view, and, before 
the night of that day, the scene that presented itself defies description. It was a deso- 
late sight to behold the remnant of that once splendid Army of the Potomac huddled 
together under the pelting storm, without shelter, without food, knee-deep in mud, 
weary and exhausted, vainly seeking a dry spot whereon to stretch their sore and tired 
limbs. In spite of the discomforts of that day, one could scarce forbear smiling as he 
beheld the soldiers plodding their way through the mud. A step, and down they would 
go, leaving shoes and boots behind them with placid resignation, knowing that it was 
useless to struggle, and finally sinking from sheer exhaustion. Millions' worth of prop- 
erty was destroyed upon the route. In the fields, wagons and commissary stores of all 
kinds were piled together and burned, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the 
enemy. Barrels of sugar, cofi"ee, pork, rice, beans, and boxes of bread, were recklessly 
flung into the road, or piled in masses and set fire to. Public and private stores shared 
the same fate. The luxuries of the general were flung into the same blaze that con- 
sumed the coarse necessaries of the soldier; no distinctions were made; destruction 
was the order of the day, and everything that could not be transported was given over 
to the destroying element. 

When the soldiers witnessed this dire destruction, they could no longer doubt 
the magnitude of their misfortune. Those burning piles were significant of defeat, 
and they turned their eyes, sad and dispirited, in the direction of the Landing, where 
were gathered the transports that were soon, they supposed, to take them from the 
Bcenea of their great disasters. 

The rebel army were, however, in a far worse condition than ourselves. They 
were actually starving, and, fortunately for us, in the language of the Prussian ofiicer. 
Colonel Estvan, " they had no army with which to pursue us." Officers of every grade 
were down at the Landing, having no commands, and waiting for an opportunity to get 
aboard the transports.— McNamara's "■Irish Ninth Massachusetts,'' vol. I, page 109, etc. 



352 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

array, consternation and amazement overwhelmed our patriotic 
and ardent host. Some refused to obey the command. General 
Maktindale shed tears of shame. Even (Gkeeley 11, 167, [43]) 
FiTZ John Porter's devotion to his chief was temjjorarily 
shaken by this order, which elicited his most indignant protest." 

After the final clinch on the bloody slope of Malvern Hill, 
when the enemy recoiled, bleeding and crushed, from the 
unbroken and defiant Union line, Kearny felt, through every 
fibre of his spirit, that a swift advance would have cruslied the 
exhausted rebel force, and, by the seizure of its capital, dealt the 
Rebel Government a death blow. The failure to seize any of 
these opportunities extorted from " the brave and chivalrous 
Kearny " the memorable words attributed to him in more than 
one popular history, which were uttered in the presence of several 
officers : " I, Philip Kearny, an old soldier, enter my solemn 
protest against this order for retreat. VVe ought, instead of 
retreating, to follow up the enemy and take Richmond; and, in 
full view of all the responsibility of such a declaration, I say to 
you all, such an order can only be prompted by cowardice or 
treason." * 

And, with all, hopelessness and despair succeeded the flush 
of triumph. In silence and gloom our victorious army com- 
menced retiring from an enemy utterly broken, scattered and 
panic stricken. 

And, when there was not a foe within miles of us, Ave left our 
wounded behind to perish, and any one witnessing the wild 
eagerness of our retreat would have supposed that we were in 
the greatest peril from a vigilant and triumphant enemy. 

Up to the time when this chapter was actually in hand, many 
seriously doubted if that excellent man. Chaplain Marks, had 
recorded the exact language used by Kearny, and the Avriter, 
in a previous brief biography of Kearny, expressed the follow- 
ing opinion :| " During the remainder of that ill-starred and mis- 

* [LossingII, 435 (2) ; quoting Greeley II, 167 (43, 45) ; Dr. Marks' Peninsula Cam- 
paign, 294; GuRowsKi, 1, 236-8; Stpher's Pennsylvania Reserves, 305-6.] 

t If any reader believes that the author is actuated by any prejudice against McClel- 
liAN, he does the author injustice. The opinions herein expressed are founded on 
careful examination and comparison of facts. McClellan was not up to his part In 
the work in hand, just as Saint Arnaud was wanting if Kikgslake is correct after tlie 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 353 

managed campaign (2d-25th June), General Kearny did his 
duty, and more than his duty, on all occasions ; but his spirit 
was fettered, and his hopes damped, by a growing disbelief, at 
first in the capacity, and at length in the loyalty, of the com- 
manding general. By loyalty, Kearny could not have intended 
to convey the idea that McClellan was false to the Union ; for, 
if he had done so, he would have been found, like too many 
otliers, in the ranks of the rebels in the field, or their abettors 
at home ; nor could he, as he is reputed (erroneously, I believe), 
to have in any way reflected on the personal courage of his 
commander ; but, as an officer remarked, on reading the charge 
reported by Marks and Sttpher, and quoted elsewhere, he did 
not seem morally brave enough to 'go in ' like Grant, and 
Sherman, and Thomas, and Rosecrans, and Sheridan, and 
' fight the thing out '" then and there, being deluded with the 
idea of the possibility of conciliating the rebels. He was, too, 
infected with the genius of what IsTapoleon styled tnezzo-termine 
(half measures), by Frederic, ' haggling ' to fight and drive 
them to the wall, which was the only fighting susceptible, then 
or ever, of securing speedy and assured victory." 

Since then, however, an ofiicer of high rank in the regular 
army stated he was by at the time, and that Kearny made use 
of the same language attributed to him by Chaplain Marks. 
When the order was brought to Kearny, he became so excited 
that " he went on like a wild man " at the idea of a victorious 



Alma (Invasion of the Cnmea, II. 32, 40, 44, etc. ; Major-General (B, A.) George Bell's 
" Rough Notes of an Old Soldier,^'' II, 183-184, etc.) ; or the Archduke Charles after 
Aspern : or Charles Albert after his successes at the opening of the Campaign of 
1848 in Italy ; or the Carlist General Gomez when he forebore to enter Madrid, in 1837 
(Henderson's '^Soldier of Three Queens,^'' yi. 42); or any other general — and there 
have been hundreds equally guilty — who let " I dare not wait upon, I would." (Com- 
pare KiNGSLAKE II. 156 ; ToDLEBEN I. 257 ; Kingslake II. 173-189, etc.) The success- 
ful generals of history are those who wooed Fortune as the experienced Lovelace 
skilled in the wiles and daring of conquest, and by audacity and even pitiless aggres» 
sion convert defeat — as did Santa Anna his crowning victory over the Spaniards — 
into victory It is not physical courage that wins the great prizes of glory, but that 
moral power (Kingslake II. 587), which by marvelous triumphs over physical prostra- 
tion, by omnipotent will and skill, like the fearless surgeon, cut to within a hairbreadth 
of deadly peril and wrest life and the future, as it were, from death. (Kingslake U. 
413.) The over-cautious operater deals like McClellan ; the responsibility-assuming 
MoTT or Carnochan, like Kkarnt, Thomas, Grant, Sheridan, Bluchbb, Setdlitz, 
Frederic and other godlike parallels, examples or imitators. 
45 



354 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ai"my abandoning the field to a flying foe, and, in spite of every 
effort to restrain him, he gave vent to his indignation in sen- 
tences, of which the one quoted was the most severe. Reference 
to his letters would lead to the just conclusion that Keaeny 
never meant cowardice, as it is generally understood, but that 
mental quality which ruined Archduke Charles, and often 
springs from a mistaken view of policy or unwillingness to 
assume responsibility. Those who object to the forcible elocu- 
tion of passion, excited by wrong, not to self, but to country, 
should recollect that even the cold temper of Washington was 
roused to violent invective by the conduct of Lee at Monmouth. 
The following order shows Kearny did not think himself 
beaten : 

HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, ) 
Camp Near Harrison's Landing, July 7th, 1862. f 

General Orders No. 27. — Brave comrades, as one of your generals, who 
has shared in your perils, so I sympathize in your cheers for victory when I 
pass. The name of this division is marked. Southern records are full of you. 
In attack you have driven them ; when assailed you have repulsed them. Be 
it 80 to the end. New regiments : we give you a name ; engraft on it fresh 
laurels. 

Comrades in battle, let our greeting be a cry of defiance to our foe ; after 
the fight, one greeting of victory for ourselves. This done, remember that, 
like yourselves, I have my duties of labor, in which I must move unobserved, 
as a true brother in hand and heart of this our "Warrior Division family. Suc- 
cess attend you. 

Few officers had more skill than General Kearny in develop- 
ing high esprit de corps among men, so that every one in his 
command felt the honor of the division to be a personal trust 
committed to him. At first, his men wore a red patch ; after- 
ward, a device in the form of a Greek cross, called the Kearny 
cross. Such was the spirit, pride and discipline of his troops, 
that a Kearny cross became a sign of good character and a 
badge of honor, and every wearer of it seemed imbued with the 
spirit of their general's motto : 

"BULGE ET DECORUM EST PRO P ATRIA MORI." 

headquarters third division, third corps,) 

July 6, 1862. / 

Sir— I have the honor to report, in continuation, that, at the close of the battle on the 
New Market Road (Glendale Nelson's Farm, or Frazier's farm, 30th June), our men 
remaiued in position until midnight, when orders were brought from General Hsin tzsi.- 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



355 



MAN to efiFect a retreat, as General Franklin had already abandoned his position. This 
move was again effected quietly and rapidly, but at some sacrifice from the want of trans- 
portation. By dawn we were in a new a,nd strong position. 
It was toward noon when the battle was again renewed. 

THE BATTLE OF MALVERN HILLS. 
In this battle, while all our regiments were on the alert and under artillery fire, and all. 
more or less, lost from the enemy's shelling and grape-shot, none but our artillery and 
skirmishers were Immediately engaged. Captain Thompson managed his battery with 
the full genius of that arm, while Captain Bandolph, with his Parrot guns, persecuted all 
that attacked him, silencing, several times, batteries that were sweeping our front, or cov- 
ering their columns of attack on General Couch to our left. The Fourth Maine particu- 
larly distinguished itself for its coolness in holding the ravine in our front, and daringly 
engaged the skirmishers of the enemy's attacking columns. Their loss was considerable. 
The brigades of Generals Eobinson and Bekby were principally in reserve, but were 
constantly sent forward in support as the battle swerved to and fro on our left. The first 
line was held by General Birney with coolness and firmness, and the regiments, even 
under fire, erected for themselves well-arranged rifle-pits. Had the next day witnessed a 
renewal of the battle, success was sure. 
Our loss has been nine hundred and fifty-one in the several engagements. 
It was at midnight that we were again called on to move in retreat, and, tired as were 
all our command, it was again executed with much regularity, and we arrived by ten a. m. 
(2d) at Harrison's Landing. 

I am, Sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) P. KEAENY, 

Srigadier-Oeneral Commanding Division. 
To Captain C. McKeever, 

Assistant Adjutant- ffeneral, Third Corps. 



Consolidated Tabular Statement op the Killed, Wounded and Missing in 
THE Third (Kearny's) Division, Third Corps, since the Battle of Fair 
Oaks. May 31. 1862. 





OFFICERS. 


MEN. 




COMMAND. 


t 


•a 
§ 


si 

a 


3 

o 


■6 


•a 

0) 

■o 
a 

3 
O 


tiii 

a 

1 


1 
g 


6 
I 

< 


Co. G, 2d U. S. Artillery 










1 

1 

8 
12 

8 
7 
15 


13 
3 

38 
74 

56 
34 

80 


2 
3 

12 
23 
67 
34 

77 


IB 

7 

58 
109 
131 

75 
172 


16 

7 


Co. E, 1st R. I. " 












1 

2 


2 
5 
2 




3 

7 
2 




61 
116 
133 


63d " " 


10.5th •' - 

87th New York ' " 




1 


i 
1 


2 


6 

1 


178 
1 


2d Brigade (Birney's) 


38th New York Volunteers 

40th " " 




...„. 

5 

1 
1 

2 
1 

1 
28 

1 

96 


4 
24 
15 

5 

8 

24 
8 
29 
118 
40 


24 
51 

27 
22 
23 

18 
31 
20 
53 
48 


28 
79 
47 
23 
32 

44 

40 
50 
199 
89 


28 


101st " " 












3d Maine " 












4th " " 




1 




1 


33 








2d Michigan Volunteers 


44 


3d " " 












5th " " 


1 
3 


5 
5 




6 

8 




1st New York " 


207 
89 


37th " " 




8 


^ 




~ir 




Total 


573 


S35 


1204 


1238 







(Signed) 



P. KEARNY. 
Brigadicr-aerterai Commanding Third Corps, Third JHvision, 



356 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJ0R-GENT;RAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



Mkmobandum of Loss in the late Battles — since June 26th, 1862 — in Kearny's 

Division. 





U 

o 


n 
1 


KILLED. 


wounded 


MISSING. 


PRESENT EFFECTIVE. 


u 
o 

o 




0) 

o 

sa 

o 


Is 


u 

V 

o 

G 
o 

1 


•a 

.IS 


1st Brieade 


73 
117 

84 
4 
5 


1644 
2253 
2124 
96 
125 


4 


29 
7 

33 
] 
1 


8 
2 
10 


213 
43 

197 
13 
3 


82 


2d " :::,..;::.:;:::;;;:::::;::::;:::::: :;■ 


184 


3d " 


3 






Co. G, 2d U. S. Artillery 




2 


Co. E, 1st Rhode Island Artillery 








3 












Total 


283 


6242 


7 


71 


20 


469 


1 


438 







The missing include many killed and wounded. 

(Signed) p. KEARNY, 

July 5tli. Brigadier-General Commanding Division, 



HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, I 
July 6, 1862. J 

Consoi.idati:d Report of Killed, Wouhded and ]^issino, in Enqaqements or 
June 30th and July 1st, 1862. 





OFFICERS. 


enlisted men. 






■6 


i 

"2 
3 
o 


o 


•a 

1 
1 

8 
10 
10 

1 


5 
o 


to 
c 


■5 
I 


s 

<1 


Co. G, U. S. Artillery 








13 
3 

33 
89 
56 
2 
28 

4 
18 
6 
6 
10 

39 
12 
3 
27 
116 


2 
3 

10 
23 
25 

■■■■22" 

33 
38 
27 
21 
13 

39 


16 

7 

56 
122 
91 
3 
50 

37 
59 
34 

28 
23 

78 
14 
32 
50 
223 


16 


Co. I [E?], 1st Rhode Island Artillery 








7 


1st Brigade. 
57th Pennsylvania Volunteers 


1 
1 


2 
6 


3 

7 


59 


aid " " 


1'^ 


I(i5th " " 


91 


87th New York 








3 


20th Indiana " 


2 




2 


W?. 


2d Brigade. 
38th New York Volunteers 


37 


4nth " •' 








3 

1 
1 
2 

■'2' 

1 

2 
28 

71 


ff\ 


3d Maine " 




31 


4th " " 




1 


1 


29 


101st New York " 




?iS 


3d Brigade. 
37th New York Volunteers 








7S 


2d Michigan '• 








14 


3d " " ::::::;;;::::::;::::.::::::::.:::::::: 








28 
21 
79 


31 


5th " " 


1 
2 

7 


5 
6 

19 


6 

7 

26 


58 


1st New York " 


230 






Total 


470 


384 


92.5 


951 







HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS,) 

Harrison's Landing, July 6, 1862. / 

Sir — I have the honor to report as follows on the moves and battle of the last week : 
On the twenty-eighth of June, at midnight, I received orders to prepare to retire from 
Fair Oaks. This was executed at six a. m., regularly and without annoyance, the enemy 
appearing with distrust as we left, without pressure. My division then took up its position 
in the very strongly fortified camp near Savage's. In the afternoon we received orders 
again to retire across the White Oak Swamp. This I executed by the back (the Mill) road. 
Some artillery and my Twentieth Indiana Marksmen held this place for several hours, 



1 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 357 

after the retreat commenced, and manned the works on the right of the road, for the pur- 
pose of preventing the enemy from hurrying us. Colonel Brown, Twentieth Indiana 
Volunteers, greatly distinguished himself His regiment lost some killed and wounded, 
as the enemy shelled the works toward the last, and parties of his advance and our rear 
guard became engaged. 

Fearing lest the roads to the White Oak Swamp bridge and Beckett's Ford might be 
unduly clogged with troops, I proposed crossing at Jordan's Ford, three miles below my 
camp. I had reconnoitered it in the morning, and found that the enemy was in force on 
the Central road, but not on the Charles City road, and did not then seem to be on the 
lookout. General Robinson was to cover my retreat, and was cautioned against the 
enemy's troops arriving from across the Williamsburg road. General Bibney, with his 
brigade, was to lead the march ; General Berry to follow. 

It was found, after crossing the double arm of the Swamp at Jordan, that our moves had 
been expected, and it being problematical whether the relative position of the lines of 
retreat justified a full engagement, after a successful skirmish of the advanced pickets; 
and, on learning that the road to Brackett's was then free, I withdrew the troops and pro- 
ceeded by that ford. General Berry's brigade, however, finding Fisher's Ford unob- 
structed, passed by that route. 

This same night, by ten p. m., the whole division was encamped on and near the Charles 
City road, at a point subsequently during the battle occupied by General Slocum. 

In the morning of the 30th June I drew up in a very strong position on the Charles City 
road. Subsequently, I was assigned to guard the New Market road and country thence to 
the Charles City road, a space of near two and a half miles. 

In taking up my line of battle, General Robinson, with the First Brigade, was posted 
on the left; his left on the New Market road supporting Thompson's Battery. General 
Bibney divided the distance with him to the Charles City road. General Berry was in 
reserve. General Slocum was to the rightof my line of battle; General McCALLto its left. 
• The enemy's attack commenced on General McCall at about two p. m. ; at about three 
p. u. it seemed to be fully developed ; but, as I rode over to visit it, it did not seem to me 
to be unduly threatening, further than from the shape of his line— its left greatly refused- 
It had disadvantages for myself, although advantages for those to whom the enemy must 
present its flank in making an attack on him. 

At four p. M. the attack commenced on my line, with a determination and vigor, and in 
such ma.sses, as I had never witnessed. Thompson's battery, directed with great skill, 
literally swept the slightly falling open space with the completest execution, and mowing 
them down by ranks, would cause the survivors a momentary halt ; but almost instantly 
after increased masses came up, and the wave bore on. These masses coming up with a 
rapid run, covering the entire breadth of the open ground, some two hundred paces, would 
alone be checked in their career by the gaps of the fallen. Still no retreat; and again a 
fresh mass would carry on the approaching line still nearer. If there was one man in this 
attack, there must have been ten thousand; and their loss by artillery, although borne 
with such fortitude, must have been unusal. It was by scores. With the irrepressibility 
of numbers, on they persisted. The artillery, destructive as it was, ceased to be a calcula- 
tion. It was then that Colonel Hays, with the Sixty-third Pennsylvania* and half the 
Thirty-seventh New York Volunteers, was moved forward to the line of the guns. 

* General Kearny uniformly spoke of the conduct of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania at 
Glendale in terms of the highest praise. He returned to the regiment his thanks for their 
glorious deeds on that day. It was detailed to support Thompson's battery, the men lying 
on their faces in front of the guns. Four several times the Confederates came out of their 
forests and charged to take them. The serving of this battery was most admirable, and 
its sweep of grape and shell frightfully destructive. With desperate courage, in four lines 
of battle, one pressing on the other, the enemy came forward to take it at all hazards ; they 
were met by a terrific storm of grape, canister and shrapnell, and wide lines were opened 
in their ranks, and men fell as grass before the mower. But still the tremor was only for 
a moment ; on they pressed, closing their broken files as they ran ; another terrific burst 
of flame would dash scorching streams into their very faces ; but still on the broken frag- 
Doents pressed, until almost to the muzzle of the cannon; then up sprang the protecting 
regiments, the firing of the artillery ceased, and musket and bayouet were left to decide 



358 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEKAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

I have here to call the attention of my superior Chiefs to this most heroic action on 
the part of Colonel Hays and his regiment. The Sixty-third has won for Pennsylvania 
the laurels of fame. That which grape and canister failed in effecting was now accom- 
plished by the determined charge and rapid volleys of this foot. The enemy, at the muz- 
zles of our guns, for the first time, sulkily retired, fighting. Subsequently, ground having 
been gained, the Sixty-third Pennsylvania Was ordered to " lie low," and the battery once 
more reopened its ceaseless work of destruction. 

This battle saw renewed three ontsets as above, with similar vicissitudes, when finally 
the enemy betokened his efforts as passed, by converting his charges into an ordinary line 
fight of musketry, embracing the whole front of the brigade, for, by this period, he was 
enabled to do so, from Thompson's pieces having left the field after expending their grape 
and becoming tired of the futility of round shot. 

It may have been then half-past seven p. m., full day-light remained, and anticipating 
that the enemy, foiled in the attempt to carry the New Market road and adjacent open 
ground, would next hazard an attack toward the Charles City road, or intermediate woods, 
that my attention was called there. I therefore left everything progressing steadily on 
the left, and visited the entire line to the right, notwithstanding that the line was long, 
and that no reserves (excepting the weak Third Michigan) existed. The cheerful manner 
and solid look of Birney's brigade gave assurance of their readiness to be measured with 
the foe, and they met my warning of the coming storm with loud cheers of exultation. 

Half an hour or forty minutes may have been thus passed. I then returned to the 
extreme left of my line. Arriving there, I found that Colonel Hays had been relieved by 
Colonel Barlow, of the Sixty-first New York Volunteers, the head of General Caldwell's 
brigade, sent to me from Sumner's Corps, and which had reported to General Robinson. 

Almost in the commencement of the action, within the first half hour, as I had plainly 
foreseen and warned my superior, General Heintzelman, and General Humphreys, 
Engineers, who most kindly had gone over my position with me, every man was engaged, 
or in position or in close support. The Eighty-seventh New York Volunteers had been 
ordered by General Heintzelman to Brackett's Ford, and the First New York Volun- 
teers was diverted from me by a misapprehension of Colonel Dyckman. This fact I 
announced to General Heintzelman, without asking reinforcements, since I did not con- 
ceive them necessary, nor would they have been but for the diverting of my First New 
York Volunteers, a very strong regiment, to General McCall. 

The Sixty-first New York Volunteers, under its most intrepid leader. Colonel Barlow, 
had vied with the brave regiment he had relieved, and charging the enemy, borne off as a 
trophy one of his colors. It had subsequently taken up its position to the left of the One 
Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania, and itself been subsequently retired, but none appointed 
to take its place, that breastwork being unoccupied. It was at this conjuncture that I 
arrived from my right. I found McCall's position abandoned, although not occupied by 
the enemy. T placed in it the First New Jersey Brigade, General Taylor. I then knew 
it to be in true hands. I observed that whilst the enemy were amusing my entire front 
with an ordinary musket fire, that strong parties of rebel skirmishers, in the gloom of the 
evening, rendered denser by the murky fogs of the smoke, were feeling their way slowly 
and distrustfully to the unoccupied parapet. Galloping back to find the nearest troops, I 
met General Caldwell, who, under General McCall's supervision, was putting two or 
more of his regiments into line to the right of the road (a quarter of a mile in rear of the 
breastworks) to move up in order. Circumstances denied this delay; accordingly I 
directed General Caldwell to lead a wing of a regiment at double [quick] up the road to 
open on these rebel skirmishers. This was done promptly, but, from their being foreign- 
ers, not with a full comprehension, and darkness embarrassed them, they fired at the 
rebels, but in direction of others of my line, and thus, while the enemy were swept off the 
arena, it left, for some little time, our troops firing at each other. To increase this confu- 
sion, the residue of the Brigade, who had not filed into the woods and formed on the road, 



the contest. The enemy could not stand the heavy stroke of the moment, but broke and 
fled: rallying three several times with fresh reinforcements, they ventured out into the 
open ground, and each time they were repelled with even greater slaughter than before, 
until great heaps of their dead were lying like mounds on the field.— Chaplain Masks' 
" I'eninsuUl Campaign," page 284. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 359 

opened on us all who were in the front. It is my Impression that General McCall (taken 
prisoner) must have been killed by this fire. 

The errors of cross-firing having at last subsided, my Fifth Michigan gallantly crossed 
the parapets and pursued the retiring enemy. The Eighty-first Pennsylvania then nobly 
responding to my orders, gallently led by Lieuteuant-Colonel Conneb, and Captain Miles, 
of General Caldwell's staff, dashed over the parapet, pursued, charged, and with a few 
vigorous volleys finished the battle at half-past nine at night. 

I remained much longer on the field, and reported in person to General Hkintzelmak 
at his quarters.* 

lu concluding my report of this battle, one of the most desperate of the war, the one 
most fatal, if lost, I am proud to give my thanks, and to include in the glory of 
my own Division the first New Jersey Brigade, General Taylor, who held McCall's 
deserted ground, and General Caldwell whose personal gallantry and the bravery of 
whose regiments not only entitle them to share in the credit of our victory, but also ever 
after engender full sympathies between the two corps. 

In this engagement the coolness and Judicious arrangements of General Birney influ- 
enced his whole command to feel invincible in a very weak position. General Berry, as 
usual, was active. The fearful losses which his noble regiments have sustained, reducing 
them to scarce two hundred to a regiment, oblige me to preserve such heroes for the 
decisive moments. Still, they will not be repressed, and the Fifth Michigan, under Major 
Fairbanks, was the first to pursue the enemy. I regret, for ourselves, that he, almost 
the last of our noble distinguished at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, and the forced advance 
of the 25th of June (second battle of Fair Oaks or of Oak Grove), is dangerously wounded. 
I have to state that this Division has been extremely tised. This has prematurely reduced 
to nothing regiments of the highest mark. 

I have reserved General Kobinson for the last. To him this day is due — above all 
others in this Division — the honors of this battle. The attack was on his wing. Every- 
where present, by personal supervision and noble example, he secured for us the honor 
of the victory. 

For the names of officers distinguished in their regiments, I, for the present, refer you to 
the brigade and regimental reports. 

As to the action of my artillery (Battery G, Secoiid United States Artillery), it has never 
been equaled for rapidity and precision of fire, and coolness amidst great loss of men and 
horses. The gallantry of its commander. Captain Thompson, identifies him with its dis- 
tinction. ^ 

Our loss has been severe, and when it is remembered that this occurs to mere skeletons 
of regiments, there is but one observation to be made— that previous military history 
preseats no such parallel 

Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) p. KEARNY, 

Srigadier-Oeneral Oommanding Third Division, 
To CAPTAm C. McKeeveb, 

Astistant Adjutant- General Third Oorpg. 

* Under a tree at the junction of the Quaker and Charles City Roads. 

(Signed) S. P. H. (Samuel P. Heintzelman.) 



360 BIOGBAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

COMPANION AND SUPPLEMENTARY. 

A PARTIAL REVIEW OF THE PENINSULA OPERATIONS ON THE 

LEFT POPULAR PRONENESS TO EXAGGERATION KEARNY's 

PRACTICAL FORESIGHT AND ABILITY THE KEARNY PATCH, 

DIAMOND AND CROSS, AND BADGE OR MEDAL. 

I saw the ground on which * * the opposing armies had gazed on each other: the 
Confederates on the ridge of the valley to the south, guarding Kichmond, the Federals on 
that to the north. The valley is nearly a mile wide. Muddy and sluggish was the streana 
(Chickahominy) in August (1862), winding through reedy meadows and swamps. * * * 
Rev. Wm. Wyndham Malet's " Errand to the South in the Summer of 1862," pages 165-'6. 

"The (battle) ground (of Seven Pines) was very unfavorable for operations on either 
side — a broad wooded flat, intersected with morasses and open spaces ; and the roads wero 
bad and marshy beyond description, owing to the late violent rains." — 31»< May, 1862, Von 
Bobcke's " Memoirs," chap, ii, page 17. 

" A general should understand his opponents' character." — Pbinck Eugeni; ; MaJ.- 
Gen. Mitchell's " Biographies of Eminent Soldiers," page 25.3. 

" The Commonwealth is sick of her own choice : 
Her over greedy Love is surfeited." 

Shakespeake's " Menry IV." 
" 'Tis drilling that makes him (a soldier), skill and sense — 
Perception — thought — intelligence." 

Schiller's " Wallenstein's Lager." 
It Is one of the fine, high-sounding axioms of tho moral throng: "Man shall do what Is 
good only because it is good." The philosopher, however, likewise the close observer of 
human nature, knows that' there is another motive which influences men in a higher 
degree: "Honorable recognition by his fellow-men." * * Under these considerations, is 
there a more sensible recognition, a more disinterested reward than by means of a simple 
ribbon, a cross, a star, in short, some badge of honor, whose entire value is its moral effect ? 
And yet, the whole history of the world demonstrates what wonderful effects have beeu 
produced by' such ribbons, crosses, stars and badges "■ * in developing grand con- 
ceptions, lofty ideas; in causing valorous and glorious actions; in reaching the loftiest 
attaining aims, believed to be beyond the reach of man. So it has been throughout all 
times. The mural crown and the laurel wreath had the same effect upon the ancient 
Romans as the Golden Fleece upon the knights of the middle ages, and us the cro.ss or 
badge of honor exercises among soldiers at the present day. — " Das Such cU-r Hilterorden 
und Ehrenzeichen, Vorwort." 

" The history of War Medals Is not well known. Many are believed to exist, that were 
struck by order of Queen Elizabeth and James I ; but the first of which there is any 
authentic account was worn as a military decoration, and was granted by Charles I, in 1642, 
for such as distinguished themselves in forlorn hopes. The name of Robert Walsh is 
recorded as the first recipient. He gained it at Edge Hill." — General Cust's " Ztves of tlui 
Warriors," 1611-1675. VoU 11, 572, Oliver Cromwell. 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 361 

AFTER MALVERN. 

Although this work appears late in the autumn of 1869, it 
was written in the summer of 1868, and the preceding chapters 
were in print soon after. Had it been prepared at a later date, 
many of the views presented would have been much modified, 
but not in favor of the Commander-in-Chief who threAv away 
his chances with as prodigal and reckless a defiance of Foitune 
as if the goddess had been inextricably chained to his chariot 
wheels, or as subservient to his will as Ariel to Prospero. 
When this work was finally passing through the press. May, 
1^869, the writer visited Richmond for no other purpose than to 
examine the battle-fields around that city, where the Union 
leader of 1861-'2 seemed desirous of surj^assing the "Host 
Waster " of the Thirty Years' War and elevate the worst 
miscarriage of the Slaveholders' Rebellion to a par with the 
failure before St, Jean de Losne in 1636. 

One of the party was an oflicer who served meritoriously in 
the Peninsular Campaign of 1862, and recognized these battle 
grounds as familiar scenes. All agreed that however a critic 
might have condemned McClellan from official documents, 
nothing could have made that general's weaknesses so apparent 
as a visit to his line of positions along the Chickahominy. Or 
as one said, who had predicted his miscarriage, " he had never 
been so satisfied of McCuellan's insufficiency* as to-day." 

Any one who will start out from Richmond on the Mechanics- 
ville pike, and make a circuit of the positions assumed by the dis- 
poser of the Army of the Potomac in May-July, 1862, any one, 
whether he be tyro or expert, laic or initiate, will return into the 
Rebel capital overwhelmed with the conviction that the plan of 
swinging into Richmond with the Union right, w^as to " take 
the bull by the horns," while, on the other hand, to " swing 
in " on the left was the correct and only course justified 
by every conclusion, military, sanatory or practical, since 

* That this epithet is not applied without authority, the reader is referred to The Times' 
" Review of McClellan : His Military Career Reviewed and Exposed," by William 
SwiNTON, afterwards author of the "Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac ;" Maior- 
General J. G. Barnard's (U.S.A.) "Peninsular Campaign;" Denslow's "Fremont 
and McClellan : Their Political and Military Careers Reviewed ;" and a number of co- 
temporary and subsequent publications in regard to the mournful Peninsular failure. 

46 



362 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" strateo-j' is nothing more than common sense applied to war." 
Hooker, grand on any field which he could supervise ; Kearny, 
tried and true on so many diiferent fields, perfect soldier, 
admirable commander and excellent general; Heintzelman, 
honest, loyal, spirited, a capital soldier, brim-full of common 
sense ; and even " worthy " Sumner, all indicated the left as 
the point of vantage, and begged to be permitted to push in 
on that wing. Then, in May, up to the middle of June, there 
were no defensive works of any consequence, if any, on that 
front, and the natural disposition of the ground fiivors an assail- 
ant from the southeast and south of Richmond. This was 
admitted to the writer in that city. After advancing over a 
flat, certainly as advantageous for an aggressive as a defensive, 
the country becomes more open and subsides, in rolls, down 
into the suburbs of the Rebel capital, which lies uncovered at 
the mercy of batteries on a high hill just south of it. Fi'ora 
this hill the Union troops could have shelled the city Avith ease. 
Along the Williamsburg road, indeed, there are comparatively- 
fair open fields to fight over, althougji in some directions, it is 
true, it is almost a wildei^ess up to within three miles of the 
city limits, and, if those limits were correctly indicated by the 
driver, even nearer on the east-southeast, where the largest 
of the five National Cemeteries is located (that which contains 
the victims of Lee's cold, apathetic, and Davis' concentrated 
barbarism, at Belle Isle and the Richmond city prisons), there is 
sheer fighting ground. This is two miles from the Rebel capi- 
tal, and near the Turnpike Gate and Oak-Grove-Family-Store 
(1869). In this direction, and within this circle, the ground is 
broken, often favorable and never unfavorable to an assailant. 
When Heintzelman's Corps, Kearny's and Hooker's Divi- 
sions, advanced on the 25th June and fought the " affair of 
THE PEACH ORCHARD,"* McCLELLANf Said, thcsc troops " are 



* Tbis affair Is mLs-named by several writers the " Battle of Oak Grove." By the senior 
G«neral present, Hkintzklman, it was entitled the Affair of the " Orchards." He said be 
applied the name because there were some peach trees hereabouts, but particularly to 
distinguish it from the battle of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks on the precedinpr Slst May— 1st 
June, with which it was often confounded. All these •' Mph-for-Ntrivton" titles, however, 
are humbuers, as much as the god-like attributes of the Rebel and the Napoleonic gifts of 
the Union Commander. There are plenty of scrub caks in this locality, but such a thing 
as a holt of noble oak trees there la not. In fact, there are no Faib Oaks, no Oak Gbove, 
no Seven Pines ! 

t McClkli^n's " Report," Second Period, June 25, 1862, pagea 236-238 ; particularly 237. ., 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 363 

where I want them." At that time Kearny and Hooker 
were pushing ahead gallantly down the Williamsburg road, 
and the latter went within four miles of Richmond. And 
Kkarny, properly supported by the troops in that quarter, 
could have gone in with ease had the Commander-in-Chief so 
willed it. 

And here, before turning from this quarter, where every 
thing invited success, the reader may desire to know what is 
the aspect of this portion of the country east and southeast of 
Richmond. To the New Yorker, as a rule, it appears to be a 
wilderness of scrub and jungle springing up from whitish or 
red sand or loam, recalling Eastern Long Island before industry 
and judgment took hold of its " barrens " and converted them 
into prolific fields. 

In the neighborhood of the " Cool Arbors," or " Cold Har- 
bors," " New " and " Old," between which there is a National 
Cemetery, it seems a desolate, poverty-stricken, almost unin- 
habited district. In May, 1869, one very extensive water- 
melon patch looked like a large field of white sea-sand blown 
into little ridges or ripples by the wind. With the exception 
that the hills were crested with sparse sprouts instead of marine 
wire grass, it resembled one of those flats lying just within the 
Dunes along the Long Island coast of the Atlantic. 

Through this wilderness, bare or tangled, and a deep and 
wide depression filled with rank vegetation, amid much lofty 
timber mingled with lowland trees, such as swamp oak, willow 
and black gum — a tree with a leaf like the maple and a bark 
like the cork or rock-oak — steals the Chickahominy. Like a 
venomous and treacherous reptile it serpentines, along the 
marshy flat, almost unobservable within the dense foliage whicb 
screens its subtle course. In its rage it suddenly swells like 
the deadly Cobra snake, hisses and lifts its augmented volume 
filling the bottom land. And then, shrinking baek into its chan- 
nel, or rather its lair, it leaves its borders covered with a poi- 
sonous slime for the sun to convert into the deadliest eflSuvia, 
augmented by the decay of a rank vegetation fed by the muddy 
overflowing of the river — a miasma almost as fatal as the blast 



364 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARISTT. 

which smote the army of the Assyrian — a miasma which stung 
the Army of the Potomac and consigned so many of our thou- 
sands to graves along its dark shores, or left them infected to 
suffer on for years, or to fill at home the unnoticed graves for 
which their bodies had been prepared by needless exposure. 

Such was the fearful obstacle — the Chickahominy and its 
swamps — which McClellak interposed between his army and 
its objective, through his willful adherence to a plan which 
Lincoln's telegram of the 4th April should have demonstrated 
was no longer feasible. Thereupon a clearsighted man would 
have comprehended that he must depend, or at all events base, 
his calculations upon the means which he had on hand and upon 
himself. 

On the 5th May, the victory of Williamsburg opened the 
direct road to Richmond; on the 11th the self-immolation of 
the Merrimac cleared the direct route by water to that city and 
pennitted the army to have a base, following it, upon the James, 
whither, after all, McClellan was compelled, or deemed that 
he was necessitated, to fall back. That McClellan did not 
perceive his true line of advance, was either because he could 
not or would not see things as they were, and seemed to be 
persistently determined to base his plans on things as he would 
or did see them, and as no one else did or could see them. His 
continual over-estimate of the Rebel force in his front is one 
great proof of this fact, among many other attestations. 

A fair deduction from the consideration of the Peninsular 
Campaign from different stand-points is, that the commanding 
general was not up to the time or to his people. In that people's 
over-estimate of men they were alone false to their superiority 
to every other people of the present or past time. 

The proneness to exaggeration of which the human mind 
is susceptible, is generally displayed in the greatest degree 
by the estimate put upon the military ability or prowess of 
an individual, or a nation, after a great success or a victory. 
This was particularly so in regard to the French after their 
Revolutionary successes. It amounted to almost a supersti- 
tious awe, which it was deemed in vain to combat.* It was 

* Db Quxnqkt's " Comfesalons of an Opium EaZer," Routledge & Son'a Edition, p. 100. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY 365 

not until the Old Blucher toppled over several of these 
traditional heroes and traversed the plans of even Napoleox, 
wiping out his " Army of the Bobor," that men began to obtain 
again anything like " level heads " as to the fabulous French 
invincibility. So it was likewise in the Thirty Years' War in 
regard to the Old Corporal Tilly and his Veteran Tercios. It 
required a battle at'Leipsic, and the still more wonderful passage 
of the Lech, to dispel the illusion, and the Swedes rose to fill 
the place relinquished by the beaten Imperialists and Bavarians. 
And thus, in like manner, nothing but a Jena could have shaken 
the faith of Europe in the armies which Frederic " the Nonpa- 
rceil" had evoked and embattled. This truth holds good more 
particularly as to McClellan", who soai*ed to greatness on a 
fictitious fame for West Virginia " baby fights," in which the 
real hero Rosecraxs, to whom they were due, was ignored. 
That the first reverse at Bull Run did not depress our people 
more than it did, is one of the best proofs of the calm equipoise 
of Northern courage. Any other j^eople would have been over- 
awed by the victory attributed to Southern valor, and, as such, 
trumpeted forth by prejudice as an evidence of Southern superi- 
ority. That the North shook off the incubus sought to be 
imposed upon it, demonstrates that a Free and Educated people 
are insensible to the superstitious influences of the Old World, 
even as our American children are insensible to the fear of 
bogies and ghosts so terrible to the early life of other days and 
lands. * 

On the other hand, there are abundant indications in almost 
everything he said, w^rote or did, that Kearny Avas ahead of 
his surroundings and alive to the exigencies of the hour. Take, 
for instance, his conception of the necessity or influence of a 
distinctive badge, the " Kearny Cross," or, more properly 
speaking, the Kearny Patch. The Cross was an afterthought 
of BiRNEY, whereas the original Patch, or Diamond, from first 
to last, designated the Third Corps, whether while it remained 
a unit or afterward became a fragment, since the two divisions 
of this corps were first consolidated, in 1864, into one, which, 
while still retaining the distinctive badge of the Third Corps, 



366 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

became the third Division of the Second Corps, and, as such, 
continued up to the end under the command of Major-General 

MOTT. 

This matter of the Kearny Patch may seem to one of little 
consequence, but it is almost impossible to estimate its moral 
effect. At the battle of Bristow Station, Warren acknowl- 
edges that numbers of stragglers Avho had been forced to fall 
out by reason of physical incapacity to keep up — not moral 
weakness from iinwillingness to " go in " — joined themselves to 
his command, and did their duty faithfully. Estimating from 
causes and effects, according to the ordinary rnle of judgment, 
Warren was indebted to Kearny for the assistance which he 
received on that occasion by those who wore that patch. 

According to officers of the Third Corps on the Peninsula, 
Kearny, about the time of the battle of Fair Oaks, directed 
his officers to wear a red patch or diamond as a distinguishing 
mark. As there were no red goods on hand for this purpose, 
Kearny gave up his own red blanket as material for these 
patches. Soon after, the men, of their own accord, cut pieces 
of the red lining out of their overcoats to make similar distin- 
guishing marks for themselves. Simultaneously with the idea 
of the joateA for the officers, Kearny adopted a plain red flag 
to indicate his Division Headquarters; and soon afterwards 
Hooker assumed a simple blue flag for his, the second Divi- 
sion of the Third Corps. Although application has been made 
to different parties who served with or beside Kearny for more 
definite particulars, none but the following has been received. 
Neither did advertisements inserted in the ncAvspapers inviting 
cooperation meet with a more satisfactory result. That the 
idea of the Patch or Corps Badge originated with General 
Kearny, no one disputes or even doubts. The writer either 
received a letter from General Birney to this effect, in the Fall 
of 1862, or else some other friend transmitted to him a news- 
paper slip, both of which have either been lost, stolen or mis- 
laid. If spared, they lie amid a mass of similar documents 
and papers whose arrangement was intrusted to an incompetent 
clerk, who made confusion worse confounded. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP ECEARNY. 367 

At all events, the idea of a division or corps badge which 
first suggested itself to the practiced and practical mind of 
IvEARisrY, although it owes its simple introduction to him, its 
after development is equally due to Major-General Butterfield, 
when he became Chief-of-StaiF of the Army of the Potomac, in 
the Sprhig of 1863. His plan was finally perfected and intro- 
duced by Major-General Hooker while in command of that 
glorious army.* This last distinguished officer deserves far 
more credit than he has ever received for many improvements of 
the highest utility in almost every branch of the service, but par- 
ticularly the staflT, cavalry and artillery. In fact, the cavalry may 
be said to owe to him its first impulse in the rapid advance to that 
organization and efficiency, which soon afterward, under that 

* Edilor of the Soldiers' Friend : 

Corps Badges. — It has been the subject of much argument and Interrogation, when 
were corps badges adopted, and by whom ? * * * 

When General Hooker assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, January 26th 
1863, he found that its morale had never been so bad. The army had become despondent* 
through repeated reverses and the incapacity of its leaders. Upon assuming command. 
General Hooker at once addressed himself to the task of elevating the character of the 
army. None knew it better than he. All through the bloody Peninsula, from the fierce 
and sanguinary conflict at Williamsburg, where his division held the enemy at bay all 
day, until the voluntary assistance of the lamented Keakny relieved him ; at Fair Oaks ; 
the Seven Days' Battles — those days of bloodshed and sacrifices — through all the san- 
guinary campaigns which filled Virginia with cemeteries, and brought sorrow and deso- 
lation to many a fireside. Truly did General Hooker know the character of that army, 
and what could be brought out of that chaos. He had not fought with them in the past, 
and seen their elasticity, faith and bravery, to forget them now. 

It is conceded now, that General Hooker has had too little credit for the great work he 
accomplished ; the many valuable reformations he caused ; and, what proved ultimately 
so valuable, the consolidation of the cavalry into one corps, which rendered them an effi- 
cient and valuable arm ot the service, which they had never been before. The grand 
divisions were done away with, and the army divided into seven corps. It was at this 
time the corps badge was introduced — a badge which afterward became an emblem of 
honor, and to-day is worn with pride and affection. General Hooker saw the value 
of some such corps designation, and adopted it. 

To the First Corps, he gave the circle: Second Corps, trefoil ; Third Corps, diamond ; 
Fifth Corps, Maltese cross; Sixth Corps, Grecian cross; Eleventh Corps, crescent ; and 
Twelfth Corps, star.— (See LossiNS's " Civil War in America," lii, 20 [1], note and Illustra- 
tions.) The division was designated by colors — red, white and blue respectively. Through 
the eventftil ftiture these badges were to be worn, emblems of his thoughtfulness and love. 
Before the end of the war, this idea was carried out through all the army. General 
Keakicy, aa your correspondent suggests, adopted a badge for his division — a red diamond 
made out of flannel. General Hooker permitted the division to retain this emblem 
when the reorganization took place. Many did not find out the value or appreciate the 
badge until It had been baptized under fire, and honors had gathered around It. Chancel- 
lorsville was ite glory, and only the crescent came out of the conflict marred with dishonor. 

Yours truly, 

JOHN N. COYNE, 

Brevet OoVoncl V. S. Vol*. 



3G8 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAVLWT. 

model cavalry officer, Major-General Alfred Pleasonton, ren- 
dered it so far superior to the boasted mounted troops of the 
South and finally a model of the practical serviceableness so 
admirably brought to bear by the able and gallant Sheridan. 

When this work was nearly half completed, the writer 
received a letter from Major George H. Hickman (who, as 
Adjutant of the 99th Pennsylvania Volunteers, performed good 
service in Birney's Brigade, under Kearny) : 

" During the ' seven days' fight ' before Richmond, General 
Kearny saw the necessity of having some distinction mark by 
which the officers and men of his division could be recognized. 
Consequently, after the arrival of the division at Harrison's 
Landing, General Kearny issued an order, July 4th, 1862, 
illustrative of his design. Officers were directed to wear a red 
patch in shape of a diamond on the crown or left side of their 
cap, while enlisted men were to wear theirs in front of the cap. 
Tlie order was eagerly and readily complied with. 

"Upon the death of General Kearny, and Brigadier-General 
David B. Birney assuming command of the division, he issued 
an order September 3d, 1862, announcing, in appropriate tenns, 
the death of our General, and directing the diamond red patch 
still to be worn. Without any official order, or concert of 
action on part of officers or men, the red patches were seen 
draped in mourning. It was a noted fact, and the subject of 
remark in orders, that during the retreat ft-om Harrison's Land- 
ing, and the several marches and campaigns, ending with that 
of Fredericksburg, a diamond patch was a rarity among the 
stragglers. 

" It is related that Colonel McKnight, One Hundred and 
Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers (No. 9 on the roll of officers who 
received Kearny badges), who was killed in action at Chancel- 
lorsville, on May 3d, 1863, and whose body fell into the hands 
of the enemy, being observed to have on his Kearny medal, 
was, by order of the enemy's officers, buried with due respect.'* 

In this connection, the following paragraph clipped from a 
paper and entitled " The Kearny * Red Patch,' " seems perti- 
nent : 






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BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 369 

" A correspondent with the Army of the RapjDahannock 
learns from reliable authority, that whenever our men are dis- 
covered by the rebels, and they are found to have upon them 
the Kearny ' Red Patch,' if wounded, they are kindly cared 
for, and if dead, they are buried with all the honors of war ; 
their graves so marked as to be readily recognized. (Colonel 
McKnigiit, of the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania, was 
so buried, his body followed to the grave with a guard of honor, 
many officers being present. A band played a funeral dirge, 
while over his remains was fired the usual salute due to an offi- 
cer of his rank.)" 

" The diamond red patch became very jDopular, and the men 
felt proud in wearing it. The contagion spread throughout the 
army, and in January, 1863, when Hooker took command, and 
BuTTERFiELD bccamc his chief-of-stafi", the general system of 
designating was adopted throughout the army. 

" Our division being the First Division of tl:|e Third Corps, 
General Butterfield, in his orders, directed that the color of 
the corps marks of the First Division should be red ; Second 
Division, white ; Third Division, blue. In thus making the 
selection, he allowed our division to retain its color, and thus 
made, in that respect, all the others subservient to it."* 

After Kearny fell at Chantilly, his successor and imitator in 
the command of his division adopted what has been styled the 
" Kearny Cross." Kearny's own " battle-flag," presented by 
Birney, is still preserved among the " Memorials of the War," 
in the collection of the Philadelphia Loyal League Club. It is 
folded in such a manner that no one can discover whether it 
is plain or bears any distinguishing mark in the centre, f 

* " The Keabxy patcli was a diamond or lozenge, and the Third Division received the 
lozenge in Butterfield's or Hooker's distribution of corps badges ; so that Kearny's 
(then BiRNHY's) division continued to wear throughout the war the identical patch, shape 
and color of the originator. 

" Kearny, according to the statement of Major W B , was also the first to 

use a division headquarters flag, which bore the cross (red) that subsequently received his 
name, which flag was cherished by the division commanders who succeeded him, and 
was displayed at division headquarters alongside of that bearing the lozenge directed in 
Hooker's orders." 

„ , -r. ^ t ^^ Pierre House, Phii,adei,phia, July 17, 1869. 

General De Peysteb: 

Dear sir— " The Union League of Philadelphia are the custodians of the KKarny Battle 

Flag, placed there by the officers of Kearny's division. It is made of plain red bunting, 

47 



370 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

After McGlellan had fallen from his pride of place, and his 
successor, Burnside, had led the Army of the Potomac down 
to Fredericksburg (to attempt the overland route, which Avns 
one of those suggested by Kearny,* and actually followed by 
Grant), a number of the officers surviving, representing the 
regiments which had served under Major-General Philip 
Kearny, met at the headquarters of the Third Brigade, First 
Division, Third Corps, in the camp near Falmouth, Virginia, 
on the 29th November, 1862. At this meeting a series of reso- 
lutions were adopted, expressive of the admiration felt by those 
present for their deceased commander. And it was determined 
to procure a medal or badge, the famous Kearny Cross, of 
which a representation is herein presented, and means were 
carefully devised to prevent any one from obtaining or wearing 
this badge who was not entitled to display it in consequence 
of actual service in battle under the eyes or leading of the hero 
whose motto was to be emblazoned thereon. As an evidence 
of the care which has attended their issue to the proper parties, 
only three hundred and twenty-five officej's had received them up 
to the date when this chapter was prepared. These names, a 
roll of honor, have been published in a very neat pamphlet, 
issued by Ball, Black & Co., the sole manufacturers of the 
" Kearny Medal." 

In the meanwliile, Major-General Birney had likewise pro- 
cured, at his own expense, a bronze cross, f to be worn by his 

nearly square, seventy and a half inches long by fifty-six and ahalf inches wide, somewhat 
riddled by shot, and is now tacked on to a piece of white muslin (of the same size as the flag 
itself), in order to preserve it as much as possible from further destruction. It is without 
device of any kind. The facta stated were obtained from Mr. Whipplk, the Secretary of 
the League." 

* Compare Articles, "Errors of tfhs Campalpn," New York Times, Sunday, 19 Oct., 1862; 
*' Mr. Bussell on the Fredericksburg Soute to Richmond," New York Times, 20th Dec, 1863 ; 
New York Times, 1st' page, Thursday, 12th May, 18C4 ; and " Obscrrvations cm, the Military 
Oporations in Virginia, in 1864," by Brig.Gen. Israel Vogdbs, U. S. A., N. Y. Historical 
Magazine, May, 1869, pages 309-313. 

t Bewabds iroR Bbave Men. — Brigadier-General Birney, while recently in Philadel- 
phia, on a visit home, ordered a thousand crosses of honor, to present to such of his 
command as might distinguish themselves by deeds of valor. The design is that of a 
Maltese Cross, inscribed " The Kearny Cross," appended to an ornament attaching it to 
a ribbon. Mr. George Bullock, of Philadelphia, learning that such an order had been 
given, called upon the manufiicturers, directed them to double the amount of labor 
expended upon the decorations, and a.ssumed the expense of the entire afSvir. The obverse 
of the decorations bears the names of the battles in which the soldiers have participated. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 3^1 

own division, previously that of Kearny, of vrhich a fac simile 
has been preseutecl to the publishers. The obverse, in a scroll 
bears the words " Kearny Cross," the reverse, " Birney's 
Division," 

In July, 1863, the lamented Birney sent one to the writer,* 
from which the accompanying representation was prepared, 
while that of the Kearny medal, badge or cross, for officers, 
was photographed from that worn by Kearny's cousin and 
volunteer aid-de-camp on the Peninsula. 

Few simple practical ideas have ever been productive of so 
much effective good as the Kearny Patch. Its introduction 
developed an amount of emulation which was productive of the 
most glorious results. Nor was Birney's liberality less remu- 
nerative in its incentive to discipline and valor. Those who 
were fortunate enough to be entitled to the more beautiful and 
costly Kearny medal, display them with a pride which is suffi- 
cient testimony of the love and veneration entertained for the 
brave and able soldier, in whose memory they were adopted 
and are worn. 

Five men fell while bearing the brigade flag, but five others sprang into their places, and 
kept it waving during the continuance of the memorable fi^ht at Fredericksburg. The 
Color Sergeant (Brigade Orderly ? ) had three horses .shot down under him. It is such 
men as these that General Birney desires to reward. Five hundred crosses will bo dis- 
tributed, through Mr. Bullock, forthwith ; the other five hundred will be reserved for 
future disposal.— A'firspajjcr slip sent to the author — no name, place or date. 

* Camp near Warrknton, Virginia, July 28, 1863. 
My dear General: 

I am in receipt of your kind favor, enclosing the additional photographs of the General 
(Kearny) and also of Frederic the Great. I am very much obliged, as I appreciate 
such beautiful specimens of art. The Kearny likeness is admirable and his seat is per- 
fectly given. (The wood cut on the Title Page is taken from this photograph, by Gur- 
net, from the grand equestrian portrait by Bolles, in the pcssession of the author.) 

I send you the Medal, a very simple affair ; but in giving a thousand at my own expense 
I had to be governed by economical views, to a certain extent. However, I trust that It 
will please you and his family. 

Our old Division is sadly thinned out; 3,100 men for duty, although some ten regiments 
have been added since Kearny's death. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg 
sent thousands of my gallant fellows to another world. I lost In those three battles, killed 
and wounded, over 5,200 — and the men never flinched. They are very proud of Kearny, 
and you would be satisfied with their enthusiasm. I must confess, too, participating fully 
in their feelings. * * * * 

Yours truly, 
(Signed) D. B. BIRNEY, Major-OaxeraU 

General de Peyster. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

HARRISON'S LANDING. 

CHAFING ON THE BIT, 

" Harrison's Bar (Landing) is simjjly a long wharf, extending into tlie river, close by the 
famous mansion where William Hknry Harrison, a President of the United States, 
was born." — " Campaigns of a Non-combatant," 209. 

This one's (Massex.\'s) heroism saved the retreating army (Frencli) from destruction 
(after Aspern, 1809). " He, himself (Napoleon), made haste to get away from the Lobau, 
in a fisherman's skiff, over to the Castle of Kaiserebersdorf, where he sank into a slum- 
ber of thirty-three hours, which resembled the sleep of death." — Scherb's " Bluchcr," 
II, 306. 

" The campaign was ended ; the Spaniards (pursuers) saw all their plans baffled, and, in 
spite of tremendous losses, had accomplished nothing except to exhaust their own 
strength."— ScHMALz's " Schaumbwg Lippc," 33. 

" What are we to do next? " " Hunt red-legged partridges, I suppose." (Wellington's 
remai-k after the Convention of Cintra, 1808.) — Gleiq's " Wellington," 78, 
" He (Achilles) doth rely on none; 
But carries on the stream of his dispose, 
Without observance or respect of any. 
In will peculiar" — 

Shakespeare's " Troilus and Cressida, ii, iii. 

His " words were half battles." They have " the true ring in them."— Olins' " Renee cf 
France." 

" Arouse ye, my comrades, to horse! 
To horse ! 
To the field and to freedom we ride ! 
For there a man feels the pride of his force, 
And' there is the heart of him tried ! " 

Schiller's " Wallenstein's Lager." 

If ever tlie striking truth embodied in Byron's lines was ever 
realized in a human being, that — 

" Quiet to quick bosoms is a hell," 
it was so in the case of General Kearny. Never in the whole 
course of his checkered career can it be said that he enjoyed 
tranquillity of mind. It was as impossible for him to be physi- 
cally quiet as it is for the ocean to cease to heave, or to be 
mentally at rest as it is for the air to pause in its circulation." 
His was a nature which was ever acting upon others and react- 
ino- upon itself His thirst for excitement was no sooner grati- 
fied than he was possessed with a hunger for some other form of 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 373 

activity to work off the tremendous stimulus which rendered, 
him so nervous that it became an utter impossibility to enjoy 
anything like repose of mind or body. Then it was that he 
would throw himself into the saddle and ride, like the Wild 
Huntsman, clearing the turnpike gates or highest fences, like 
Dick Turpin, to the outrageous disgust of bilked toll-takers or 
furious farmers, indignant at the trespass. With him it was a 
word and a blow. Only, as the old family nurse used to say, 
tlie blow generally came first. Indeed, it was under such 
accesses he would seize his pen and dash off those caustic let- 
ters which often grieved his friends as much as they irritated 
the objects of his sarcasm, striking off word or pen-pictures, 
which embodied startling truths Avhile they were invested with 
an exaggeration of bitterness which was the offspring of the 
same wild genius that characterized Gustave Dores' greatest 
work, his illustrations of the career of the " Wandering Jew." 
Nevertheless, with all this, Kearny felt a perfect adoration for 
the beauties of nature, and even while chafing under the inaction 
of Harrison's Landing, with our forces " boxed up like herrings," 
his letters demonstrate that he was susceptible to the charms 
of the surrounding scenery, and in his communications to i-ela- 
tives and friends at home his enthusiastic love of the beautiful 
found its expression in that talent which he so eminently pos- 
sessed of writing descriptions of what he saw, almost as vivid 
as pictures which pi-esent the object to the eye. His health 
suffered greatly at this time, and he never seemed to enjoy 
perfect health except in the saddle, and, in the saddle, every 
ride that he took through the camps was a perfect ovation, such 
an ovation as that which proved to be the military symphony 
that preceded the last scene of his glorious military drama. 
So constantly did these occur that he was compelled, in orders, 
to endeavor to restrain these testimonials of admiration and 
affection, the cheers and hurrahs with which the soldiers greeted 
the " Fighting General " of the army whenever he appeared.* 

* HEADaUARTERS. THIRD DIVISIOZST, THIRD CORPS, 1 
Camp near Hakbison's Landing, July 7, 1S62. / 

General Orders, Nd. 27. — Brave comrades : As one of your Generals who has shared In 
your perils, so I sympathize In your cheers for victory when I pass. The name of this 
Division is marked. Southern records are full of you. In attack, you have driven them ; 



374: BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAKNY. 

Dismounted, his complaints returned upon liini with increased 
weight, almost as soon as his feet quitted the stirrups, and with 
them a dejjression of spirits, augmented by inaction. Then it 
was that the " Fighting Phil. Keaeny," the " indomitable," 
the " ubiquitous," the " heroic," became the prey of feelings 
engendered by his personal disappointments ; by the unsuccess- 
ful consequences of such a fearful waste of life and of resultless 
battles ; by the utter failure in his commanding general ; by 
the apparent want of appreciation of himself; and by what he 
thought himself compelled to believe, a semi-treasonable politi- 
cal creed; by a haughty disgust of the "small men of small 
motives," who managed this great war. He was bitterly cha- 
gi'ined at their incomj^etency to discriminate between capable 
and incapable men. This last misapprehension led him to think 
seriously that he should no longer consent to be their jjuppet. 
Above all this, however, an acute grief was gnawing at his 
heart, on account of the losses and almost ruin of his pet Jer- 
sey Brigade, the first from that State, which he had made, 
whose career of glory, infructuous, though so fearfully Ijloody, 
he had watched with the same anxiety that a parent accords to 
a son whom he has educated himself, and sent forth to prove 
to the world the stuff which is in him, developed by the careful 
training of the best of masters. 

Nor would this work be complete did it fail to present some 
portions of General Kearny's coi-respondence, which are dated 



when assailed, you have repulsed them. Be it so to the end. New regiments, we give yon 
a name; engraft on it fresh laurels. 

Comrades in battle, let our greeting be a cry of defiance to the foe; after the figlit, one 
greeting of victory for ourselves. This done, remember that, like yourselves, I have my 
duties of labor in which I must move unobserved, as a true brother in hand and heart of 
this, our Warrior-Division-Family. Success attend you. 

By command of Brig.-General Kearny, commanding Third Division. 

(Signed) ALEX. MOORE, A. A. A. G. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, •> 
Third Army Corps, July 7, 1862. J 

Orders No. 97. — The BrigUdier-General commanding Division takes great pleasure inihe 
]j4nd receptions given him whenever he presents himself among the men of his command, 
but prefers, in ordinary times, to be allowed to pass quietly and unobserved. Immediately 
after a battle, he has no objection to a few hearty cheers. 
• Commanders of regiments will please inform the men of the General's request. 

(Signed) /* "> A,LEX. MOORE, A. A. A. Q. 

JIoxo many generals hcuce bad to request their men not to cheer them!?! LeX veracUna ftC^ 
torians answer. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 375 

at Harrison's Landing. These letters, better than any other 
medium, will make the reader acquainted with the military- 
character of the individual who dashed them off. Several 
are due to the preserving interest of Cortlandt Parker, Esq., 
to whom all who honor Kearny must feel grateful, for the care 
he has evinced in collecting so many valuable records of the 
best soldier of the period. 

" It will be more interesting, and more in accordance with 
our pi-esent purpose, to resume again the correspondence of 
General Kearny, and thence derive our acquaintance with his 
military character. A letter of anxious inquiry has been written 
to him respecting the fate of Major Ryerson,* of Sussex, 
reported at first to have fallen. Under date of the 10th of 
July, from Harrison's Landing, he writes as follow: 'Your 
request as to Major Ryerson's effects shall be attended to ; but 
I am glad to have it from reliable sources that he is a prisoner, 
and not dangerously though badly wounded. The siege of 
Richnxond was raided, and here we are drifting down the stream. 
How curioiis all this verification of prognostications I so cor- 
rectly read, and yet feared to translate ; so strangely correct 
have been my instincts in this war as in previous ones. In 
Italy, in 1859, it was the san^ie thing, and made my betters some- 
timieg wonder ; but this war is plain to those who, with expe- 
rience, will take pains to look danger in the face, to leave little 
to mere hope, and remember that a Southern army can not 
afford to be idle. Our comitig here ha=s been a most cowardly 
and unwise alterna^ve. The battles on 'fehe left bank of the 
Chickahominy were mismanaged. I had been over there several 
days before, and observed to all ai'ound how we would be 
strategically f and tactically whipped,; attacked from an inland 



* Afterward killed at the " Wllderne^." 

t " In the course of the seventeenth century, and until near the close of it (second and 
third decade), the principles-of offensive war had not been settled into that code which 
we now call Strategy (the word itself is not in Johnson's ZKicZionari/). War was the mere 
trial of strength between individual warriors until the time of the Barons, when it ad- 
vanced into becoming a struggle o.f bodies of men, either behind st^one walls or some 
Inaccessible natural defences. The object sought to be obtained by leaders of armies was 
just the mastery for the monlent, withotit much combination or any previously considered 
plans, which fbrm the science of a campaign."— General Gust's " Lives of the Warriara," 
16U-1670, vol ii., 455. 



3T6 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

point not provided against, and be thrown down-liill, and then 
have to work up again, and be thus crippled and destroyed. 
It occurred so precisely. Then comes the fearful error of 
McClellan's want of nerve. Instead ofinstanter reducing his 
line of defense to a certain intrenched tete-de-pont on the right 
bank, merely covering Bottom's Bridge and the Railroad bridge, 
and beyond which he never should have made a serious advance 
short of adopting an attack and rushing into Richmond by that 
side — a tcte-de-pont fully fortified and strong ; and crossing the 
night of the first, or certainly the second battle, when he could 
no longer have been deceived, oil his troops, except the 10,000 
men requisite for the tUe-de-jyont, to the left bank, there to defy 
and give a general battle — and the ground was admirable for 
us ; then, in case of victory, recrossing and rushing into Rich- 
mond ; in case of defeat, retiring, as other beaten armies do, 
back along his line of communications, to his basis of opera- 
tions, be it to White House, be it to Williamsburg, be it to 
Yorktown ; thus always firm, always secure, always covering 
his own supply, always embarrassing his enemy by drawing 
them on when they have no transportation to follow, when they 
dare not leave Richmond too far. Instead of all this, as simple 
as the pursuit of the panic-stricken army running from Manassas, 
he loses head and h^art, throws himself back on the shipping, 
and gulls the silly public with a hard name, namely, that he had 
changed his base of operations. This is false, and by this time 
he knows it. We have no basis whatever to act on. As to 
ascending the James, when, after the successful fight at Malvern 
Hill, he yielded the strongest battle-field that we have yet had, 
he gave to the enemy a fearfully strong position which debars 
our future advance. As to crossing the James river, that is out 
of the question. It would result in nothing, but only the more 
endanger Washington. And now I distinctly assure you that 
there are ninety-nine chances in a hundred of Washington's 
being taken in less than fifteen days. But the falsity of the 
James river being a base of operations is this, that it is quietly 
known that, if there were full peace, the James river has been so 
efiectively obstructed that it could not be cleared under many 
weeks ; besides, gunboats are overrated. The enemy fought 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 377 

very cowardly in the West, hence their success. In this region 
the rebels fiice full batteries on the open ground, hurling grape 
at them, and come up to the muzzles of the guns. This was 
the case on the 30th ult., on the New-Market road, where 
nothing but my so-called pei'sonal rashness in heading the 
Sixty-third Pennsylvania and a part of the Thirty-seventh New 
York, in leading them to the charge, saved my pieces. To me 
the most cruel thing of this war is the unhandsome attempt of 
crushing my military mastery of my j^i'ofession vinder the 
decrying epithets of rashness.* My best results of head would 
often fail but for the stimulus of my lead. No ; very far from 
having a base to act on, General McClellan has boxed us. 
You will soon hear of the James river being rendered impass- 
able for our supplies, and then, like drowned rats, we must soon 
come out of our holes. But it will be done with more awful 
sacrifices of useless because avoidable battles. We ai-e fortify- 
ing here again, i;nnecessarily so. It breaks the hearts of the 
soldiers, gives them the idea that they can not win fields, and 
yet, in a few days, sooner or later, we will have to burst through 
the network that the enemy are preparing around us, and, if we 
do not look out for Washington, that city wall go. They 
will crush Pope, by leaving McClellan in ignorance of their 
departure, then for a foreign alliance, and good-night to the 
North. Even now McClellan's defeat will be likely to pro- 
duce this. His 'change of base' may cheat the American 
newspapers and fool the American peojDle ; but the ignominious 
retreat, the abandonment of the sick and wounded, the aban- 
donment of stores, and loss of strategical supremacy can not 
be concealed from the military eyes of France, England, nor 
elsewhere. So much for McClellan and the politicians. 

"'P. S. — One curious fact: knowing the case of carrying oif 
my sick and wounded from Fair Oaks (I sent them ofiE" early), I 
was ordered to unload them and abandon them ; but I did not, 



*' Lord Napier, of Magdala, said In one of his recent speeches in London that the " way 
to defeat an Asiatic enemy is by going straight to their heads on every occasion." The 
hero of Abyssinia was loudly cheered at this remark; but we suspect it contains the first 

principle of successful war everywhere. — Capt. P (one of the finest military writers in 

this country, during the years 186a-'5 military Editor of the Army and Navy Journal). — 
ir. Y. Times. 

48 



378 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and carried them off, but, although I had twenty empty wagons, 
was prevented taking off those of another hospital. Fortu- 
nately, they, too, principally got clear.' 

" I will not apologize," is the remark of Cortlandt Parker, 
in his sketch of Philip Kearny, Soldier and Patriot, " for 
extracting this long letter. There is much in it to exhibit the 
peculiarities of General Kearny's character. Next to his sense 
of the disgrace inflicted upon the army at large, and the country, 
by the retreat which he so severely denounced, was his grief at 
the losses and almost ruin of his pet Jersey Brigade, upon 
whose fate he ever looked with parental anxiety. ' I am sick- 
ened,' he writes in a letter of July 24th, ' by the falseness of 
the times, and the gratuitous sacrifice of the Jersey Brigade, is 
enough to make me so. Why did not their division general go 
to command in person ? It was his own part of the division 
( * * ). It was half of his own provisional corps, and 
surely why not place it in the fight, even if he did no more ? 
There is some awful secret history to this * * division at 
Friday's fight. You will learn it in the end ; the battle which 
had been won, was lost by imbecility.' July 31st, he writes: 
' Major Ryerson is home to tell his own story, and more have 
escajjed than we counted on. I am much affected by two cir- 
cumstances, the loss of tlie colors of the Second regiment, and 
the surrender of the Fourth, with scarcely a man hurt, all of 
which only proves the want of confidence incident on a want 
of military management on the part of the noblest troops on 
the earth, my old brigade, in that disastrous battle of the 2'7th 
of June, on the Chickahominy. General Taylor tells a sad 
story of it ; the brave Hexamer, of the battery even worse ; 
and yet McClellak screens Porter, and Congress brevets 
him. As to their commanding general, I cannot understand 
how a general like him, with his legitimate division, one half 
of his command committed to fight under his own eye, in his 
very presence, and that he should have never taken charge of 
their welfore. At Williamsburg, I engaged the enemy with 
but five regiments, and at Fair Oaks with but one brigade, and 
yet this is set down as rashness of my own person, I dislike 
to think of this, the noblest brigade in the army, frittered to 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 379 

shreds in a' moment. How truly and honestly would I have 
served under General Cook, had Jersey hut united her soldiers 
for us. 

" * Our great anniversary is hardly past, recalling most pain- 
fully the uprising of the North at this epoch last year, till then 
much treachery, but not a reverse of arms. How vividly do I 
recall, in an oration I heard that day, the truthful tribute to 
General Scott, as the only man who could have impressed with 
certain victory the mass of his countrymen, who, had he been 
left in general control, would have mesmerized us with his own 
unrivaled conviction of success. But where are we now ? 
Whither has gone the dignity of the finest army ever raised in 
the hemisphere, if I may not say the world ? All disappeared, 
as if wilted by the touch of some evil genius's wand. An army 
victorious in retreat, even brilliantly so in the advance, and 
even in the fiilse position into which it had been exposed, more 
lavish of blood than aught history presents on record ; and yet 
all this timorously placed in a cul-de-sac of which the enemy 
holds the strings. 

" I am glad," he proceeds, " to hear you boldly mention the 
principle of drafts. Believe' me, without it, not only is the 
Union imperiled, but I will not answer for the existence of the 
Korth, The Southerners have long years proclaimed that they 
could of all people" the best sustain a war. Is the North to 
shut her eyes to the past, and forget Sj^arta and the Helots, a 
figliting aristocracy, and the cultivator a slave ? The slothful- 
ness of the North, the schisms of its politicians, the trifling of 
all — in fine, this crisis, dictated by small men of small motives, 
has developed in the South confidence, and increased venom 
and the activity of hopefulness, even more than the spasmodic 
action of despair. They have boldly launched into the experi- 
ment which Washington dared not, even for our sacred Revo- 
lution ; and they have invented the conscrijjtion, in which they 
have succeeded by terrorism, or as likely because, from our 
temporizing, the South is united to a man ; and thus from being 
weak, comparatively, in population, it is they who outnumber 
us at present, and will do so the more each succeeding day. 
Do not be deceived by big words; we have been blinded by 



380 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

them too long. Do not believe that you can starve them by 
intercepting railroads. In the first place, the position of any 
railroad argues an unlimited concentration against the assailant, 
a speedy return to another quarter. But that apart, do not let 
us fancy that if, for thirty years, all Germany was overrun by 
armies, living as they went; if that same country was more 
recently the theatre of war for twenty years of the vast forces 
of Napoleonic times, and with armies that moved with hardly a 
provision train, there is any starving an army in the heart of 
Virginia, where, cut what roads you may, you still have maAi- 
fold branches near at hand. Besides, look out ! the war will be 
carried into Egypt, and our own purse-strings will be unfastened 
with a vengeance. 

" Why we hesitate, I cannot imagine. It is fearful infatua- 
tion to wait. The people are ripe for it, as you remark. Of 
course they are. First, they are earnest as patriots ; and next, 
they have an instinct of the storm brewing in the horizon. 
"Wliy the enemy leave us as long alone really embarrasses me ; 
not but that it is very certain that their tremendous, unparal- 
leled daring in facing our artillery has been attended with un- 
paralleled loss. Though successful on the Chickahominy against 
Porter; unsuccessful on the 30th of June, on the New-Market 
road ; by the spirited advance of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania 
and half the Thirty-seventh New York, which I led up against 
ten times our number, who, unchecked by the ceaseless discharge 
of six pieces firing grape, nearly reached the muzzles as soon as 
ourselves; again unsuccessful at Malvern Heights, from its 
amphitheatre shape, permitting a concentration of our over- 
numerous artillery (the only battle where it has come well into 
play), the result of all which was, for the moment, that they 
could no longer force their men to an immediate repetition. I 
myself think that they can never repeat it, for it is unusual in 
war ; it is against the axioms of Napoleon as to the capabilities 
of human courage. Still, their losses, though surpassing ours, 
are more than made good." 

The same letter contains General Kearny's views on a ques- 
tion then miich mooted t- the employment of negroes in aid of 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 3S1 

the Union cause.* He says: "But besides drafting;, it is time 
for us to deprive the enemy of their extraneous engines of war. 
There is no more Southern man at heart than myself. I am so 
from education, association, and from being a purely unpreju- 
diced lover of the Union. But this is noAV no longer time for 
hesitation. As the blacks arc the rural military force of the 
South, so should they indiscriminately be received, if not seized 
and sent off. I would not arm them, but I would use them to 
spare our whites, needed with their colors ; needed to' drill, 
that first source of discipline — that first utility in battle. But 
in furtherance of this, instead of the usual twenty pioneers jx'ir 
regiment, I would select fifty stalwart blacks ; give tliem the 
ax, the pick and the spade. But give them high military 
organization. We want bands — give twenty blacks — again 
military oi-ganization. So, too, cooks for the companies, team- 
sters — even artillery drivers. Do not stop there — and always 
toithoict arms — organize engineer regiments of blacks for the 
fortifications, pontoon regiments of blacks, black hospital corps 
of nurses. Put this in practice, and the day that, from European 
interference, we have to look bitterness nearly in the face, then, 
and not till then, awaken to the conviction that you have an 
army of over fifty thousand highly disciplined soldiery — sn- 
perior to double the number of our ordinary run of badly dis- 
ciplined, badly ofiicered, unreliable regiments now intrusted 
with the fortunes of the North. I would seek French officers 
for them, from their peculiar gift over ' natives.' In their own 
service they easily beat the Arabs — and then ofiicer them and 

* Employing the CoNTRAJBANDS.-Brig.-General Birnet lately wrote to Maj.-General 
Kearny for instructions as to the employment of blacks. The following is General 

Kearny ''s reply : 

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, "I 
Camp near Harrison's Landing, August 5, 1862. / 
General— Your communication of this date relative to contrabands is received. The 
Southerners emploj' blacks as a militarj' unarmed element, viz. : ruralists. I am of opinion 
that we should employ them, unarmed, in lilie manner, for any thing in which they can 
render service, and thus enable the whites to carry the musket. Therefore, I fully advise 
their being employed as teamsters, pioneers (unarmed), and as cooks in the regiments. 
Lieut. Col. INGALLS wiU furnish them. 

Respectfully, 
(Signed) P. KEARNY. 

To Brig.-General Birney. 

In accorflancc with these instructions, it is understood that Gen. Birney has ordered 
each regiment in his command, to obtain twenty cooks, ten teamsters and twenty 
pioneers, making three hundred contrabands employed in the brigade. 



3S2 BIOGEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

sui-pass their own troops in desperate valor. Also, I should 
advise some Jamaica sergeants of the black regiments. As for 
the women, employ them in hospitals, aiid in making cartridges, 
etc. I know the Southern character intimately. It is not truly 
brave. It is at times desperate, invincible if successful — most 
dispirited if the reverse — is intimidated at a distant idea, which 
they would encounter, if suddenly brought to them, face to face. 
This idea of black adjuncts to the military awakens nothing 
inhuman. It but prevents the slave, run away or abandoned to 
us, from becoming a moneyed pressure upon us. It eventually 
would prepare them for freedom ; for surely we do not intend to 
give them to their rebel masters. In fine, why have we even 
now many old soldiers on the frontier garrisons? Send there 
a black regiment on ti-ial — not at once, but gradually — by the 
process I named above. Do this, and besides acquiring a strong 
pi'ovisional army, you magnify your present one by over fifty 
thousand men."* 

Again, on the 17th of Jnly, he addressed his tried friend, O. 
S. Halsteap, Jr., of New Jersey, better known, in the political 
world, as " Pet Halstead." " Is it not strange, here is an 
army nearly strong enough to go to Richmond. It was quite so 
when it arrived, but has lost the half of its numbers by sickness 
and imbecile administration of a commonplace, unmilitary * 
* * a weak-kneed General ; and also its losses in useless, but 
terribly severe battles, are beyond all European previous experi- 
ence. In honor to the Southerners I must say, that theirs has 
been even severer. Thet face grapeshot, as Naj)oleon laid it 
down as an axiom to be impossible. They are noble fellows. 
But our men have displayed Ji<s2! as much courage, but have not 
yet been led against batteries. In their doing this, as a friend, 
though I say it, who should not, I beg you to make all remem- 
ber, that it was by my personal influence going into the first 
line of fire, precisely as the French Generals have ever done, 

* The three preceding letters are from Parker's " Kearxv, Soldier and Patriot." 
Kearny's idea of organizing, militarily, the blacks was ahead of any thing originating in 
the Army of the Potomac, but not in advance of the common friend of Kearny and his 
cousin. Brig. -General J. W. Phelps, TJ. S. V., of Vermont, nor of the writer, who, in the 
public prints, advocated — in case of liostilities between the North and South — organizing 
colored regiments under white officers; and of arming the blacks in the ensuing year 
when a long war had become a mouruful fixed fact. 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEKAL PHILIP KEAENT. 383 

* * * that FIRST gave this impulse of fighting to the army of 
MoClellajs^ 1)1 return there is silence to my powers of admin- 
istration, my talents for high discipline, my perfect, business- 
like management of all my quotas on a field of battle, and the 
stupid crowds take up the words prompted to them by the 
emissaries of the envious and others, my enemies, and say — 
" Ah ! there is a worthless General, he exposes himself." " He 
is rash," "He must be an ignoramus." Our poor Jersey 
brigade was cut up, to pieces, from mismanagement (I refer you 
to General Taylor) in Porter's fight. The only battle which 
we have yet lost — and this entirely owing to Porter's toant 
of head. The country permitted an imjjregnable field, it was 
not developed. He used regiments and brigades with no con- 
certed action, and lost all * * * and yet McClellajst, i7i 
the face of the President, gives [him] * * a provisional 
corps — and then the President gives him an advanced rank. 
Whilst Z, the like unknown before in history — a successful 
division commander, am left * * * without recognition. 
Be sure if this army was in the hands of a man likely to save it 
(it is in a bad fix), I would pitch my commission to the winds 
and serve my country otherwise."* 

Ten days afterward he addressed the following characteristic 
epistle to a young cousin, a New Yorker by birth, who had just 
been appointed a Captain in the Eleventh New Jersey Volun- 
teers. This gallant young man was mortally wounded at Get- 
tysburg and died, aged only twenty-one years, on the 9th of 
August, 18G3, in St. Luke's Hospital, New York city, in con- 
sequence of the amputation of his leg, too long deferred for his 
fragile constitution : 

" I am glad to find you in arms. I am truly sensible to the kindness of 
Gen. Stockton and Col. Scranton, as well as to his Excellency the Gov- 
ernor. I must confess, that I would have preferred you to have commenced 
as a Lieutenant, for a Captaincy involves fearful responsibility — and IJiave 

* other letters of Kearnt, very interestiug and able productions they are, might 
have been added in this chapter, but it is not just to the dead to publish what he would 
not have desired or suffered to be made public had he lived. As remarked in a previous 
chapter, many of his ebullitions were the result of pain acting on a nervous tempera- 
ment. Kearnt was a magnanimous man, and such men do not utter injustices in their 
cool moments, or desire to have them remembered if spoken or uttered under irrita- 
tion or suffering, mental or physical. 



384: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the weiffht of our viilitary name, on my slwulders. But I do not saj this to 
discourage you. I am proud tliat you are in tlie service. If you display 
courage it icill gracefully cover a multitude of short-comings. You must 
have learned something of the nature of men, as to controlling them with 
decision hut little harshness ; with discipline but justice ; but above all with a 
careful watchfulness of their rights and comforts — they are very grateful, 
fa/r more so than the little one hiay do for them deserves. As to perfecting 
yourself in your new position, never let it pass from your mind in what a 
false position a gentleman is, wlto assumes to be that wJiicJi he is not. That 
you necessarily must be so for a while is not your fault \>vX that of the volun- 
teer system, that takes new (men) instead of doing justice to those who have 
served. In telling you all this, my dear cousin, it is only to stimulate you 
to a high energy. Adopt a military carriage, and perfect yourself in the 
tactics and in army regulations. Study them constantly. Add to this an 
investigation of military law, and your course will be right, and a battle or 
so dashingly carried through, will secure to you my warm sympathies and 
any assistance I can render you. We are still (within) about five and a half 
miles of Richmond. Continued alarms, now a shell booming in the air, now 
a brisk picket fight, now a foray by the enemy, and then again some grey- 
coats brought in from the other side. In our two battles of Willamsburg 
and Fair Oaks, my division is the only one that has been engaged (here 
some words apparently were omitted) in the two battles. These two battles 
looked more like the pictiire books than any thing I had ever before seen, 
except one small point in the battle field of Solferino. The slain were actu- 
ally piled up in heaps. My Michigan Marksmen are fearful with their 
rifles. I have also some Pennsylvania Mountain Men who are brave fel- 
lows, and some Maine Woodmen, who seem at home anywhere in the 
woods, whether balls are whizzing by them or not. My Neio York regi- 
ments include the celebrated Hobart Ward Thirty-eighth and the Mozart. 
On the whole it is a very exciting life, btat I never get over the feeling that 
after every battle I am as fearful of hearing of friends being killed in the 
opposite army as in our own." 

If liis detention at Harrison's Landing was a short period 
of comparative rest and recuperation to General Kearny, it 
was destined to be but a short interval of repose. Within two 
weeks he was again in motion and on his march to join Pope. 
He left the banks of the James with alacrity, for to take the 
field again was to him a renewal of life. It is true, that he was 
no longer buoyed up with those brilliant hopes of success which 
animated him when he first took the field, still, his spirit was 
nevertheless elate with the prospect of once more participating 
in an active campaign, which promised, even if it held forth no 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 385 

other incentives, a certainty of again meeting the enemies of his 
country and the traitorous foes to right and progress ; a certainty 
of fair stricken fields, where brilliant examples, stern intrepidity, 
and able generalship might undo, by hard fighting to the pur- 
pose, what had already been ill done by the sheerest incompe- 
tency — an inability to harvest by decision what had already 
been reaped in blood. 

Here the reader must leave Kearny for a few pages in order 
to consider what had occurred in the " Army of Virginia" 
between the date when the " Army of the Potomac" was com 
pelled by its commander, not by the rebel foe, to commence its 
rapid retreat to the James, and the date when Keaeny was 
enabled to bring up his division to the assistance of Pope. 
While Kearny lay in enforced inaction at Harrison's Landing, 
stirring events had been occurring in another quarter, whither 
the rebels had been j:)ermitted to direct those forces which 
should have been fully occupied, if not destroyed by Mc- 
Clellan. 

Then, if ever, was justified that indignant outburst which 
Shakespeare places in the mouth of the hunchbacked but lion- 
hearted Richard HI, Lincoln, when he learned of the breaking 
forth of Lee, might have addressed to McClellan the very 
words which the indomitable Plantaganet addressed to Stan- 
ley: 

King Richard — " Wliere is thy power, then, to beat liun back ? 

Where be thy tenants and thy followers ? 

Are they not now upon the western shore. 

Safe-conducting the rebels from their ships ? " 

Stanley — " No, my good lord, my friends are in the north." 

King Richard — " Cold friends to me ; what do they in the north. 

When they should serve their sovereign in the west ? " 



49 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 
POPE AND THE "ARMY OF VIRGINIA." 

( No. 1. ) 

FROM THE EAPIDAN TO WAEEENTON". 

" SoLDiEBS : We have had our last retreat. We have seen our last defeat. You stand 
by me and I will stand by you, and henceforth victory will crown our eflbrts."— McClel- 
LAN, September 10th, 1861.—" Sebellion Record " Diary of Events, Vol. III., 22 (2). 

" Very grievous was the disappointment of the loyal people when they knew that the 
Grand Army of the Potomac had been driven from the front of Richmond, had abandoned 
the siege, and had intrenched itself in a defensive position in the malarious region of the 
James River."— Lossino's Civil War in America, II., XVII, 441. 

" Pope, on talking tlie field, issued an address to his armj', censuring, by implication, the 
course of McClellan, and breathing a spirit of confidence which belied the forebodings 
which he felt."— Harper's History of the Great Rebellion, 382, and note 3. 

" ^Vhat is an army in which the commander is at the mercy of his subordinates ?"— 
Massena to Napoleon ; Mitcheltj's Biographies of Eminent Soldiers, 188. 

" I am clear that one of two courses should be adopted : 

" First. To concentrate all our available forces to open communication with Pope. 

" Second. To leave Pom: to get out of his scrape,and at once use all our means to make 
the Capital perfectly safe.»-McCLELLAN to Lincoln, August 29tli, 18i52. 

" Pope now rejieated with greater earnestness his request, made before he took the field, 
to be relieved of the command of the Army of Virginia, and allowed to return to the 
West."- LossiNG'.s Civil War in America, II., 462. 

" Money is precious, human life is precious, but Time Ls the most precious of all."— Field 
Marshal Suw.^row to General Bei,gr.\db, 1799. 

" This Cabinet order deranges all my plans. . . . Every individual general addresses 
himself to the Aulic Council, not only about his own particular affairs, but about general 
affairs also ; and has thus a right to intrigues, for his ■awn pleasure and advantage, which 
giv,es the Council power to direct and to bind him. If the Aulic Council would only leave 
me alone, then one or two campaigns would not cost me more than so many months ; but 
with their hyper-strategy and generalship, one month of their operations will extend over 
entire campaigns."— Suw.\row to Rosumowsky, Russian Ambassador at Vienna, 1799. 

" Your Excellency knows that my functions are confined to transmitting the King's 
orders, and reporting all events to your Excellency. I believe I have fulfilled my duties 
with care and exactness. If I had supposed it was the Emperor's intention to invest me 
with more extensive functions, I should have begged to be excused; first, because the 
supreme direction ot affairs in Spain is much beyond my ability: and, secondly, because it 
is necessary to success in war, that a chief should have under his orders officers of inferior 
rank who will obey him ; not comrades, who think their merits superior to his."— Marshal 
JouRDAiN to the French Minister of War, June, 1809. 

" It is true, that, in the absence of the Crown Prince [Halleck], the chief command of 
the troops was entrusted to the Duke of WiEMAR [Pope], . . . but, in point of fact, his 
authority was very limited, or, to speak more accurately, imaginary; and this for two 
reasons. In the first, because the Emperor Alexander [Lincoln] had written to the Duke 
[Pope], to act in all things conformably to the arrangements of the Crown Prince [Hal- 
ihck], who was at a distance from the theatre of war ; and, secondly, because orders were 
forwarded directly from the headquarters ... to Wintzengerode and Bulow 
[Porter and others], who, of course, acted as if they were not under the command of the 
Duke [Pope]."— General Danilefpsky, Campaign in France, 1814, 29. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 387 

Although it does not come within the scope of this work, to 
enter into any detailed historicg.! review of the operations of 
the " Army of Virginia," it is, nevertheless, absolutely neces- 
Bary to present a statement of its o^jerations after General Pope 
assumed the personal direction of it at Warrenton, July 29th, 
1862. He received the command "with grave forebodings of 
the result," but with the assurance that the enemy would never 
detach from Richmond any considerable force for an advance 
upon Washington, so long as the " Army of the Potomac " re- 
mained at Harrison's Landing, since as long as it lay there the 
rebel capital was in imminent danger. 

Any military student who has examined accurate and de- 
tailed maps of the country between the Potomac, east, the 
Rapidan, south, and the Bull Run mountains, west, will see 
what an extremely difficult task was assigned to Pope. The 
rebels were advancing along those mountains, using them par- 
tially as a screen, and yet Pope was compelled to cover Fred- 
ericksburg from twenty to thirty miles to the east, and entirely 
out of the line of their march.* The authorities in Washington 
and McClellan must bear the greater share of the blame 
originally laid upon Pope. Indeed they, and not he, are res- 
ponsible for his want of success. Considering all the difficulties 
front and rear with which Pope had to contend, the only won- 
der is that he accomplished as much as he did. The latter 
should have clung to the rear of Lee, or at least have made a 
diversion, if he did no moi'e. Lee manoeuvred as if he deemed 
that the army at Harrison's Landing was deprived of all power 
of aggressive injury. 

Was he not right ? was he not justified in his conclusions by 
the result ? for McClellan's whole action, correspondence and 
dispositions from the day when he landed on the Peninsula, place 
him in the same category with those French generals who, 
abounding in troops, but wanting in themselves, limited them- 
selves almost entirely to demonstrations on the western frontier 
of Prussia, during the " Seven Years' War." 

Imagine such a general as McClellan had proved himself, 

* See ELnr, Schalk's " Campaign of 1862 and 1863," " Of what use was or could be the 
occupation of Fredericksburg? None." Page 187. 



388 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

especially in his retreat to the James, in Pope's place. Would 
he have held at bay one hundred thousand men flushed with 
success, with forty to fifty thousand, and have checked them 
for two weeks, disputing every inch of ground from Cul- 
peper to Fairfax, fifty miles, holding back Lee's whole army 
on a line of from thirty to forty miles in extent of front ? Com- 
pare Pope's action with that of McClellaiv in the Peninsula. 
The latter retreated pi'ecipitately twenty-five or thirty miles 
which interposed between Mechanicsville and Harrison's Land- 
ing, although he had numbers equal, if not very greatly supe- 
rior, to the rebels, and his lieutenants held their own gloriously 
in every encounter. McCLELLAisr had better troops than Pope ; 
better executive generals than Pope, until he was joined by 
Reno and Kearny ; better means of supply, and heartier co- 
operation. Whatever may have been Kearny's personal 
feelings toward McClellan, he never flinched from his duty 
to him as his superior. The following may be cited as a speci- 
men of his style of expressing his sentiments in the field : 

" The conduct of General Kearny in this battle (Glendale) 
was the admiration of all his corps. He was everywhere 
directing all movements, imparting, by his presence and 
clearsightedness, the most determined courage to his men ; 
wherever the danger Avas greatest, there he pressed and carried 
with him a personal power that was equal to a reinforcement. 
In a pre-eminent degree he possessed that military prescience, 
or anticipation of what was coming and the point of an enemy's 
attack, which has characterized every great man who has risen 
to distinction in the art of war." (Chaplain Marks' " Peninsular 
Campaign," pages 282, 283.) 

Justice has never been done to Pope.^ The merits of the general 



* " Justice has not been rendered to General Pope for his conduct in this campaign." 
[The writer penned his sentiment in the summer of 186S, having always previously main- 
tained that view of the case. He did not know Professor Draper was engaged in his 
grand work until the ensuing winter, and never heard or read this judgment until the 
winter of 1868-1869.] "He had a most difficult task to accomplish, and had to depend on 
very unreliable means. Though there never was purer patriotism than that which ani- 
mated the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac, that army had been brought, through the 
Influence of officers who surrounded General McClellan, into a most dangerous condi- 
tion—dangerous to the best interests of the nation — of having a wish of its own, and that 
wish in opposition to the convictions of the government. In armies it is but a very short 
step from the possession of a wish to the expression of a will. Perhaps at no period of 
the war were thoughtful men more deeply alarmed for the future of the nation than when 
they heard of the restoration of McClellan to the command, and recognized the unmis- 



BIOGRA.PHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 389 

have been lost sight of in the dements of the individual, 
if demerits is a }3roper term for nnconciliatory manners and 
rough deportment. McClellan, as wisely observed by Chap- 
lain Marks, won his popularity by demeanor more than by 
any thing else. "Much of the devotion of the array to 
General McClellan was owing to the fact, as he rode through 
the ranks, he always looked upon the men kindly ; and when 
hs had to press a soldier out of his way, it was never with rude- 
ness or insult." 

Pope, on the other hand, was undoubtedly sometimes, if not 
often, the exact reverse of this, if prejudice has not influenced 



takable constraint under which the government had acted. It was in vain for well mean- 
ing persons to affirm that the general had never been relieved, and that what had now 
taken place was no more than an ordinary proceeding. The Peninsular disaster was too 
recent, the complaints and asseverations of Pope of disobedience to his orders, among the 
higher officers, too loud for the real state of affairs to be concealed. 

" ' Leave Pope to get out of his scrape ! ' What had Popk done to merit inevitable des- 
truction ? He had gone down to the Rapidan in obedience to orders to compel the enemy 
to rtrlease his hold on the army in the Peninsula. He was keeping at bay in the best man- 
ner he could — nay, more, ha was desperately assailing — Lee's ablest lieutenants. For 
more than a fortnight he was fighting battle after battle against overwhelming forces, 
first to prevent the junction of his antagonists and then to resist their whole mass. He 
might have been indiscreet lu his reflections ou the generalship of his predecessor, but 
bad he been ten times more so, this was not the moment for retaliation for such offenses. 
Was hcnot now the soldier of the republic, at the head of her forlorn hope, in the very breach I 
When, frona the midst of the fire converging upon him, he cried out for more ammunition 
to enable him to keep his foothold, how was he answered ? ' I know nothing of the cali- 
bres of Pope's artillery ! ' 

"The operations of Pope with the army of Virginia were based entirely on the expected 
junction of reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac. Not without indignation does 
he say in his report, ' 25,000 men were all of the 91,000 veteran troops from Harrison's Land- 
ing, who ever drew trigger under my command, or in any way took part in this campaign. 
The complete overthrow of Lee'.s army, or at least the entire frustration of his move- 
ment toward the Potomac, was defeated by the failure of the Army of the Potomac to 
efftoct a junction in time with the army of Virginia on the line of the Rappahannock, or 
even so far back as the line of Bull Run.' 

" From the tenor of Pope's complaint, the reader cannot fail to discern that the national 
government was, at this time, passing through a serious crisis. The triumphant confeder- 
ate army threatening Washington, was by no means the only formidable object before 
the republic. Individual grievances are of little moment in the eye of history, save when 
they are connected with national interests ; they become of supreme importance when they 
presage public perils. Enough has been said to enable the reader to perceive that at this 
momentous period the government was acting under constraint. . . . Military critics 
will, doubtless, point out professional mistakes in Pope's campaign. In justice, however, 
they must bear in mind his disappointed expectations of support. Well might Lincoln, 
who, notwithstanding his general buoyancy, was subject to paroxysms of deep depression, 
almost despair, when he saw so much gallantry wasted —well might his heart sink within 
him, when he was now sardonically told in allusion to his former solicitude for the seat 
of government at the outset of the Peninsular campaign, ' at once to use all duo means to 
make the capital perfectly safe.' " Professor John William Dbapeh's History of the 
American Civil War, vol. 2, p. 444. 



390 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the pen-portrait of the man. A friend and relative of the 
writer was present " at an interview just in the rear of the 
latter's (Kearny's) division, on a slight eminence, at nightfall, 
about 9 p. M., August 29, 1862, the first day of the Second Bat- 
tle of Bull Run. Kearny asked to have his troops — whom 
he said had sustained hard fighting and were worn out — re- 
lieved by fresh ones." Such a request from such a man as 
Kearny, should have been met with sympathetic courtesy and 
consideration, even if the exigencies of the service prevented 
Pope from acceding to it. Nevertheless, "the request was 
refused in rough terms," so much so as to leave the most pain- 
ful impression upon the mind of the narrator, an officer of high 
rank and position, who dwelt upon the interview with admira- 
tion, " in describing Kearny's magnificent presence during the 
whole scene." 

Nevertheless, it would be highly unjust and untrue not to 
express the conviction that Pope's tenacity saved Washington, 
imperiled by the practical incapacity of Halleck, and the languor 
or i^rocrastination of McClellan, aided in either case by the 
vacillation, feebleness, and utter want of comprehensive ideas 
and of strategic penetration among those who controlled events 
at the Capital. All, however, could have been remedied by 
will and alacrity on the part of McClellan, and more than one 
of his generals. Results distinctly demonstrated that these 
were wanting. Those who cannot, or will not judge by results, 
will, perhaps, pay as little attention to the following extract 
from the letter of an honest man, who served in a most respon- 
sible position on the staff of the Army of the Potomac for over 
three years, which throws strong light upon the subject : 

"On September 2d (this morning). General Pope, while on 
Centerville Heights, pointing toward four different encamp- 
ments, directed me to carry orders to Major-Generals Heint- 
ZELMAN, SiGEL, Reno and Porter. I found neither of these 
generals at the encampments indicated ; in fact, I was so misled 
by this indication by General Pope as to make it three or four 
hours before all the orders were delivered. 

"I rode up to one headquarter tent, and meeting General 
Franklin, asked him the whereabouts of these genei*als ; he 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 891 

told me that there were other generals in the tent who, perhaps, 
might inform me. I found fiye generals in consultation, one of 
whom immediately replied to my inquiries by saying that they 
did not know anything about General Pope, or his generals."* 
SucHET, on the Var, in April and May, 1 800, occupied an 
analogous position to that of Pope, in August, 1862. Defeated 
by Elsnitz, but disputing every inch of ground, he clung so 
tenaciously to the Austrians, and occuj)ied their attention so 
thoroughly, that his diversion exercised a most important influ- 
ence upon the event of Marengo, and Napoleon acknowledged 
it. Massena's de^'^ce of Genoa operated in a similar and 
almost equal degree, although he was forced to capitulate. 
Both, by their obstinate resistance, gained time, the most 

* " The operations of the English army (1595, in Ireland) were retarded and counteracted 
by disunion. Russell, the Deputy, envied the glory of Nokris, and Norris, the General, 
was jealous of the Interference of Kussell."— O'Conor's Military Memoirs of tlie Irish 
Nation, 9. 

" St. Ruth (the French general sent over to command the Irish in 1691) did not reach 
Athlone until the siege of the Irish town had commenced. Dissensions are said to have 
arisen between him and Sarsfield. Possibly, upon his arrival at the camp, he may have 
reproached Sarsfield with the unnecessary and hopeless defence of Ballymore, and of the 
English town of Athlone, where so many of the best soldiers of the army had been sacri- 
ficed in posts which were notoriously untenable. That discord prevailed, most prejudicial 
to the service, is certain, but whether excited by these reproaches, or by the jealousies too 
frequently attendant on camps, is a speculation now enveloped in obscurity."— O'Conor's 
Mililary History of the Irish Nation, p. 139. 

"The day is (1643) reported to have been intensely hot, and this oppressed the soldiers ; 
many of the Cavaliers of note, moreover, had fallen before the rebel artillery, which had 
been advantageously posted and well served. * * * At all events, when the day broke, 
Essex found the way open ; and marching through Newbury, unopposed, he pursued his 
way to London by way of Reading and Windsor. Here he found Sir William Waller, 
with about 4,000 horse and foot, apparently quite unconcerned about his safety at Newbury, 
which was not above twenty miles distant !"— Lives of the Wan-iors of the Civil Wars of France 
and England, by General the Hon. Sir Edward Oust, DCL. London, John Murray, 
Albemarle street, 1611-1675 ; 1867, Vol. I., 292. 

" It is very curious, but the history of the Great Civil War of England, like our own 
' Slaveholders' Rebellion,' a contest between an aristocratic faction and the People, was 
prolific in examples of the pernicious etfects of the jealousies between rival commanders and 
their favorites or adherents. The same was the case in the Civil Wars of the French Mon- 
archy, although the French Hepublican armies were wonderfully free of such exhibitions. 
The Austrian military records are full of similar cases, and, strange to say, it is insinuated 
that the successes of both the Banapartes, Emperors, in Italy, were owing to the facility 
with which they could bribe some of the Imperial commanders. Still, in justice, it must 
be added that, two of the chiefs, over whom he gained the greatest advantages, were 
' above suspicion,' ' but some of the subordinate officers, especially of the staff, in that 
and the subsequent wars, have not come off so clear.' Names have been mentioned, and 
charges distinctly made. In the Hecit de la Campagne en Malie, Bonaparte is reported to 
have said, at Milan, after the war was over, in allusion to an article in a German news- 
paper—the ' Ratisbon Mercury '— whi^h insinuated that he had bribed the Austrian gene- 
rals : ' It is true that I have spent much money, but not to win over the generals. I thought 
it better for my purpose to try the staff, and I have had no reason to regret it.' "—Vol. 1, 
pp. 91, 92; ViEUssEUX's Napoleon Bonaparte : his Sayings and his Deeds, 



392 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

important element in military success ; Pope, likewise, gained 
time of inestimable value. He held in check for ten days the 
army which McClellan had permitted to escape, and thus was 
let loos^ upon Washington. He saved the National Capital, 
and from the buckler which he interposed, Lee glanced oif to 
Frederick. This gave ten days more. Then the " Army of the 
Potomac," having absorbed the " Army of Virginia," threw 
back the rebels across the Potomac. 

The Army of Virginia, in July, consisted of about 34,000 
infantry and artillery, and about 5,000 cavalry, of which a con- 
siderable part was in bad condition. 

This force was stretched out along a front of forty miles, with 
its left resting on Sperryville, and its right on Fredericksburg. 
On July 14th, General Hatch had been directed to occupy 
Gordonsville, which, with Charlotteville, Kearny had indicated 
from the very first as strategic key-points to any overland 
advance upon, or operations against, Richmond.* Hatch failed 
to execute this order, which would have enabled him to 
destroy the railroads which connect at Gordonsville, and was 
superseded in the command of the cavalry by the model com- 
mander of that arm, glorious John Buford. 

On the 13th July, Jackson, with his own division, and that 
of EwELL, had been ordered to Gordonsville, where he was 
joined on the 27th by A. P. Hill, This accession augmented 
the forces in the presence of the Army of Virginia, on the 'Tth 
of August, to 35,000 men. Pope concentrated his infantry 
along thie road from Sperryville to Culpepper ; his cavalry being 
thrown ten miles forward. On the 9th, occurred the battle of 
Cedar or Slaughter Mountain, or Cedar Run, whose results so 
alarmed the Federal authorities, that General Halleck tele- 

* The English author of the Battle-Fields of the Sotrfft— quite a fair book for a rebel work— 
remarljs, page 424, in this connection: "Banks, with a strong force of New England 
troops, was stationed within a short distance of Culpepper Court-House, while strong 
detachments of cavalry and artillery had penetrated even so far southward as Gordonsville, 
but did not retain possession of that all-important point. They were merely feeling their 
way to its ultimate occupation. This was perfectly well known to us, and the value of 
Gordonsville fully appreciated ; for the only two routes to Richmond and the South united 
there, and if once strongly garrisoned by the enemy, they would circumscribe all our opera- 
tions, and cause the fall of Richmond without the absolute necessity of losing a man." If 
this was anywhere near true In the summer of 1862, how perfectly correct in the fall of 
1861! 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 393 

graphed at once to McClellan to send forward General Burn- 
side with his corps — Avhich had been brought from North 
Carolina to Fortress Monroe, and was lying there — to reinforce 
Pope through Fredericksburg. Five days previous to this 
bloody and indecisive conflict, on the 4th,* McClellan had 
been ordered to withdraw from the Peninsula, whereupon he 
became very bold, and made the abortive movement under 
IIooKEK to Malvern Hill. This apparent initiative occasioned 
the remark by Kearny, who supposed that this was the first 
of a renewed advance upon Richmond, " that Hooker got all 
the good chances, and none fell to his share." As long as 
McClellan lay at Harrison's Landing, in his very strong and 
fortified position, Lee, Avitli the main body of the rebel forces, 
remained in Richmond, to watch him and protect the rebel 
capital. 

Indiscretion or treason in the Northern ranks revealed to 
MosEBYjf passing through the fleet of transports at Fortress 
Monroe, as a prisoner, that the troops assembled at that point 
were not to join McClellan, but were destined, in fact were 
on their way, to reinforce Pope. Feeling satisfied, from his 
knowledge of its commander, that there was no danger to be 
apprehended from the Army of the Potomac, wasting most 
precious time at Harrison's Landing, Lee, as soon as Moseby 
made his report, began to move northward. This was on the 
13th of August. In the meauAvhile Pope, who foresaw the 
coming storm, was losing reputation daily, through his strict 
observance of the orders of that general who had already given 
him a very unfavorable character before the people, by father- 
ing upon him a report which Pope declares that he never made. 
This report was the one in regard to the capture of 10,000 
prisoners during Halleck's own operations against Corinth, 
June 12th, 1862. Such a report Pope declares never emanated 
from him, and with some reason, since he says he was confined 
to his tent by sickness at the time. 

Pope did well in Virginia, considering the forces at his dis- 
position, and all his reverses were due to his honest endeavors 

* " Atinals of the Sixth Pemvfjjlvania Cavalry," 5th August, p. 83. 

t John Esten Cooke's Military Biography of Stonewall Jackson, pp. 255, 256. 



394 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

to olbey tlie orders daily transmitted from Washington, and the 
positive assui'ances that he would receive cordial suppoi't and 
adequate reinforcements. The first was not given, and the 
second did not arrive either in the force promised or at the time 
stated. 

On the 14th of August, the Army of Virginia was reinforced 
with 8,000 men of Buenside's Corps, under the gallant and 
reliable Reno, from Falmouth, four days after Halleck tele- 
graphed that the enemy was crossing the Rapidan in large force. 
Pope, thereupon, was making j)i"eparations to push forward, 
when, on August 16th, his cavalry captured J. E. B, Stuart's 
Adjutant-General, on whom was taken an autograph letter of 
General Lee, dated Gordonsville, August 15th, which revealed 
the rebel intention and Lee's plan to overwhelm the Army of 
Virginia before it could be reinforced by any portion of the 
Army of the Potomac. This left Pope no other option than to 
fall back upon a stronger position, and await the arrival of the 
expected support. Even the British Colonel Fletcher, in his 
History of the American War, virtually admits that Pope did 
well; that he accomplished his retreat in good order behind the 
Rappahannock; and, during the 20th, 21st and 22d of August, 
foiled every attempt of the rebels to pass that stream, although 
they tested every ford. The " English Combatant," author of 
the Battle-Fields of the Soxitji (page 425), speaking of the retir- 
ing of the Union forces back toward the Rapidan, or Rapid- 
Anna, does justice to the movements in these words: *'This 
was generalship," Captain ISToyes, an eye-witness, whose 
peculiar duties gave him opportunities of seeing everything, 
confirms this in his " Bivouac and Battle-FieldP 

Three precious days had thus been gained, since every day 
that Lee's advance was delayed was of incalculable value to 
the country. Finding that he could not force the passage of 
the river Rappahannock — which rose seven feet,* in consequence 



* Men often talk of parallels and coincidences in war, and such there are infinite and 
curious. At the battle of Fornova the Italians attacked the French and were repulsed, as 
at Cedar Mountain. At the same time the Italian Stradiotti cut around and plundered 
the French camp. When, the next morning, Charles VIII had completed his prepara- 
tion to attack the Italians, he found that a torrent which interposed had been so swollen 
by a sudden storm (such as occurred at Oriskany 1777, at Solferino in 1859, and did after- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 395 

of a heavy rain on the night of August 22 — Lee determined 
to throw Jackson round Pope's right, the movement being 
screened by the Bull Run mountains. 

During that terrible night of the 22d — " the darkest night 
he ever knew," according to Brevet-Col. Paine — occurred 
that raid of 1,500 cavalry under Stuart, who stole around 
Pope's flank, just as the same leader had made the circuit of 
McClellan two months previous in the Peninsula, and captured 
Pope's headquarter wagons, at Catlett's Station. This exploit 
made a great noise at the time, and augmented the causeless 
ridicule heaped upon the Union commander, because his uniform 
coat was captured. Even had his whole personal baggage from 
his undershirt to his overcoat, even had his whole camp become 
the prey of the enemy, such a misfortune need not have had 
any effect on the campaign. At Janikau, March 6, 1645, in 
one respect the decisive battle of the Thirty Years' War, the 
imperial light cavalry got possession of the Swedish camp, 
without affecting the military or political result* in the slight- 
est degree. After the Swedes had won the victory, their 
cavalry cut down the marauders and re-captured their booty. 
At MoUwitz, 10th April, 1741, the Austrian Horse renounced 
charging, and " the Hussar part did something of plunder to 
rearward," at a moment when every bayonet and sabre was 
needed in the opposite quarter. At Chotusitz, May 17, 1742, 
and again at Soor, September 30, 1745, the Austrian light troops 
made themselves masters of the Prussian camp. But this undue 
diversion of so many cavalry doubtless gave Frederick the 
victoiy, which he deemed cheaply purchased by the loss sus- 
tained through the plundering of the Croats, Pandours and 
such like. 

At Arbela, B. C, (October 1), 331, the Persians who had 
broken or permitted to traverse the Grecian line, could have 

wards occur at Chantilly), that the river had risen seven feet, and was no longer fordable. 
Exactly such was the case with Pope on the 25th August, 1862, when he Intended to cross 
the Rappahannock and attack the rebels, at the same time that Stuart was making his 
raid round upon his rear. A peculiarly heavy rain, which set in on the 24th, so raised the 
river that the bridges were carried away. Before the water subsided the opportunity had 
passed, Jackson had thrown himself in Pope's rear, and the whole aspect of the cam- 
paign had changed. 

« Geijeb's Mistory of the Swedes, 326 (6). Combe's " Hlstolre Generale de la Diplomatic 
Europeene," Sec. 2, pages 211-215. 



S96 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

overwhelmed the left wing under PARiiENio, already hard 
pressed, had they not amused themselves with the pillage of 
Alexander's camp. When the rest of the array of Darius 
had been dissipated, Parmenio cut up the marauders, and, 
despite the temporary occvipatiou of his camj), Alexander 
triumphed and became master of Asia. 

At Fornova, or the battle of the Taro, 6th July, 1495, the 
Stradriots or Albanian light cavalry gave the victory to the 
French by turning aside to pillage their camp. 

Unfortunately, however, among Stuart's spoils were the maps 
and memoranda of the Topographical Staff, and worst of all 
Pope's dispatch-book. This revealed to Lee not only the plans 
of the Union general, but the disposition of his forces and their 
comparative feebleness. Well may the historian, Guernsey, 
remark, " When that unnamed negro, accidentally encountered 
in the darkness, guided the Sixth Virginia cavalry to Pope's 
tent, he was potentially fighting the battles of Groveton and 
Antietam." 

This was one of those interventions of Providence which men 
style accidents,* such as decided Aughrim and the fate of Ire- 
land, 1691, by the hand of an outraged husband, a pedlar; 
Denain and the fate of France, 1712, through the casual stroll 
of a " priest and civic functionary ; " Mollwitz, 1 741, through the 
meeting in the snow of the Prussian Aid, Saldern, with a farm, 
laborer sent in search of a clean shirt for an Austi'ian trooper ; 
Catholisch-Hennersdorf, 1745, by the guidance of a miller's 
boy; Vittoria, 1813, through the information of "a brave 
peasant ; " Waterloo, through the piloting of a shepherd's lad. 
But a still more apposite parallel is that pilotage of " an humble 
and unknown individual," " a Piedmontese peasant," who found 
the French army of Francis I. pounded in the passes of the 
Alps, and by his guidance rendered the defeat of the Swiss at 
Marignano or San Donato, September 13-1 4th, 1575, possible, 
and the conquest of Italy an accomplished fact. 

On that night of darkness and storm, Major-General Philip 
Kearny's Division, which had landed at Alexandria 1:30 p. 

* ■' la war sometimes accidents happen, accidents above human power to prevent, 
they are like the interfering of Providence." Schalk's " Campaigns of 1862 and 1863," 
page 251. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 397 

M., 21st, was at Burke's Station, having loft Harrison's Landing 
on the 15th of August, and marched thence, via Jones' (Soan's) 
Bridge (August loth), "which Ave (the 3d Corps) were to hold 
till the troops had all started from our old canij) at Harrison's 
Bar." On tlie 16th, via Diascund Bridge, Kearnt fell back 
to Barhamsville, and Williamsburg (17th), to Yorktown 
(20th), sailing thence August 21st.* Kearny's division and 
Meade's Pennsylvania Reserves were the first troops from the 
Army of the Potomac to reinforce — that is, effectively^ in the 
face of the enemy — the Army of Virginia. 

The disclosures of Pope's dispatch-book developed at once to 
Lee the practicability of turning the right of the Army of 
Virginia, getting in its rear, capturing its supplies and cutting 
it ofi" from Washington. Tlie execution of this hazardous 
stroke of generalship Avas confided to the audacious and ever- 
ready Jackson. It Avas nevertheless fraught with peril, and 
had Pope been reinforced, as he expected to be and should 
have been, the biter would have been bit, like the Saxons at 
Kesseldorf, in 1745; like the Russians at Austerlitz, in 1805; 
and like the French at Haynau and at Culm, in 1813 ; and like 
Charles Albert at ISTovara, in 1849, Had the Army of the 
Potomac, as a unit, supported the Army of Virginia, as did the 
divisions of Reno, Kearny, Hooker and Meade, the star of 
Stoneavall Jackson Avould have set on the same field where it 
rose and gave him a name.f 

On the 22-23d of August, while Pope was revolving in his 
mind a good plan to overwhelm Jackson, and making prepara- 



*.Heintzelman's Report (Pope's Report), page 54: "Life of Maj.-Gen. David Bell 
BiRNET," pages 60-61. 

t " He (Pope) had labored hard under many difficulties, and he bitterly complained of a 
lack of co-operation with him in his later struggles by McClellan and some of his sub- 
ordinates." " It is clear to the comprehension of the writer, after a careful analysis of 
reports and dispatches, that had these corps and Porter's been allowed to give timely 
assistance to Pope, as they could have done, Lee's army might have been captured or 
dispersed, and perhaps a death-blow given to the rebellion. In view of all the testimony 
and especially of that given in McClellan's Report, it does not seem to be a harsh judg- 
ment to believe that the (Commander of the Army of the Potomac and his friends wero 
willing to see Pope defeated. ' Pope's appointment to the command, and his address to 
his army on opening the campaign,' says a careful writer, 'had been understood by th€in 
as reflecting on the strategy of the Peninsuliir campaign ; and this was their mode of 
resenting the Indignity.' "— Lossing's Civil War in America, II., 462, Text and Note^ i, 
pages 402-3. 



398 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

tions to carry it out effectively, another general as prompt, bold, 
and expeditious as the greatest of rebel lieutenants, the dashing 
Kearxy, was already at Warrenton Junction, and had placed 
sufficient guards all along the railroad in his rear. 

At midnight, on the 25th, Stonewall Jackson was at Salem, 
at the western issue of Thoroughfare Gap, having operated 
under cover of the Bull Run Mountains ; just as Traun moved 
to and fro, like a shuttle, under the blind of the Range of the 
Spessart, in 1745, when, by practical-strategy and without the 
necessity of a battle, he compelled the French to retire precipi- 
tately beyond the Rhine; just as Lee was about to throw back, 
by a series of battles, the Union armies beyond the Potomac. 

Those who observed attentively the operations of the "Seven 
"Weeks' War," in 1866, will perceive that the Bull Run Moun- 
tains occupied identically the same relation to Pope's line of 
supply and retreat, that the Giant Mountains and the ranges 
which constitute their jjrolongation toward the south-east, bore 
to the line of supply and retreat of Benedek — the slopes of 
Silesia representing the Shenandoah Valley. The possession of 
the passes through these rugged barriers and of the fortresses 
which secured them, enabled the Prussians to flank the Austrian 
airmy, and, throughout, menace the communications on which it 
was completely dependent. It was this fact forbade Benedek's 
selecting a more advanced battle-field than that of Sadowa, 
where he was nipped and crushed as was Pope in the second 
battle of Manassas Plains or Bull Run. 

The authorities at the National Capital, always extremely 
timid, never seemed to feel that they were safe, not even for a 
moment, without keeping a considerable army in front of the 
defenses of Washington, when the circle of forts and works 
around that city ought, if they had been properly manned and ^ 
commanded — backed by a sufficient central reserve, ready to • 
move to any over-matched or mastered point — in itself to 
have been sufficient to render them secure. They appeared 
to be desirous of realizing the truth of the ol(J Swedish proverb, 
that "they defended not their men with walls, but their walls 
with their men " — when Swedes fought, as Frederick intim- 
ates, " Swedes did fight," rendering the proud assurance, how- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 399 

ever, in any thing but the grand tliough boasting sjDirit of the 
original. Moreover, even when they had selected a general, 
they were unwilling to concede any independent action to the 
man of their choice. Pope was, in reality, nothing more — as a 
Major-General (who ought to have known) expressed it — than 
a sort of Adjutant-General, to promulgate and see to the execu- 
tion, views and orders of a sort of Aulic Council or Cabal, pre- 
sided over by the Commander-in-Chief, of which the President 
was, ex officio^ a member, and yet, through his right of patron- 
age, the ruling spirit. These pulled Pope here, and ordered him 
there, until they made themselves responsible for all his short- 
comings. The only wonder is, that, under the circumstances, 
Pope accomplished as much as he did. A patriot martyr, 
whose word could be implicitly relied on, reported these facts, 
as well as the admission of Mr. Lincoln, who was honest 
enough to confess that " Pope went all right enough, until one 
day we geed him, when we ought to have hav^ed him, and then 
all went wrong !" This, doubtless, referred to Halleck, or his 
council, insisting upon Pope " geeing " in his retreat, to cover 
Fredericksburg as a place of disembarkation for reinforcements 
from the Army of the Potomac, Avhen Pope wanted to mass to 
the right, and stop the gaps through the Bull Run Mountains ; 
at the same time receiving reinforcements through Alexandria. 
Pope has never received full or even justice at the hands of 
any writer who has as yet prepared a history of the great 
American conflict.* A military history of the war has not yet 
been written. In that, if the pen is not dipped in prejudice, 
the commander of the " Army of Virginia " during its last 
campaign will receive more credit than has hitherto been ac- 
corded to hira. The writer is no particular admirer of Pope, 
but he is a believer in truth and justice in history, and a wor- 
shipper *of good old fashioned honesty in thought, word and 
deed. The author who has been most severe on Pope seems 



* Since this was written the second volume of Prof. John WiiiLiAM Dbapeb's Civil 
War in America has appeared, which does justice to Pope. It is somewhat curious, but 
the learned and distinguished professor writing in his study in Westchester county, and 
tbe author of this work in his library in Dutchess county, unlinown to each other, were 
taljing identically the same views of Pope and his operations, and using in one or two 
sentences the very same words and in many expressing exactly similar ideas. 



400 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

always to have written like " Planchette," submissive to a 
superior directing will, and the brilliancy of his paragraphs 
has often misled the reader into accepting his prejudices for 
unquestionable narrative. 

Pope apparently experienced about the same treatment at 
the hands of McClellan, or whoever regulated that general's 
movements, as many of the French generals, during the Seven 
Years' War, received from their government in Paris, but more 
especially from their associates or colleagues in command, and 
just about as much support as the Austrians afforded to the 
Russians at that period, or the Russians accorded in turn to 
them. Had they pulled together, Frederick must inevitably 
have succumbed.* The assistance given to Pope was some- 
thing equivalent to that of Lord George Sackville to Ferdi- 
nand, of Brunswick, at the battle of Minden, in 1V59, because 
the Englishman was " too proud to submit to the control of a 
German prince," or, perhaps, more akin to that which Langeron, 
the Russian subordinate, lent to Blucher until events com- 
pelled entire submission., If any reader does not comprehend 
this, let him examine the secret history of these events and he 
will be astonished when he learns to what lengths jealousy or 
worse will carry military leaders. This was exemplified by 
Bernadotte's conduct toward Davoust at the period of Auer- 
stadt, in 1806, when Thiers states that he refused to support 
Davoust and left him alone in the presence of the Prussian 
army, subsquently exhibited in regard to Bulow, Tauenzein, 
Borstell and even Blucher, in 1813, in fact toward all his 
colleagues and the general cause throughout the German and 
French campaigns of 1813, 1814.f The inner history of the 

* Sdwakoff. at the head of the Austro-Russian army, cleared Italy (Genoa and Riviera 
excepted) of the Republicans ; the Abchduke Charles defeated Jourdain, and drove 
him back across the Rhine and obliged Massena to abandon Zurich, and retire behind 
the Aar; while, at the same time, an Anglo-Russian army landed in Holland. But 
JEALOUSIES and an ignorance of the simplest principles of strategy ruined this fair com- 
mencement. Gen. Mitchell's " Biographies of Eminent Soldiers," page 177. 

The Duke op Wellington and Blucher got on admirably together during their 
short campaign (1815) ; but the imbecile arrogance so constantly displayed by the Spanish 
commanders rendered it impossible for English officers to act in concert with them. Ibid,, 
page 235. 

t The reader will pardon a few further remarks in regard to the pernicious Influfinca 
upon public affairs of jealousies — nay, even rivalries — between generals ; the more dan- 
gerous in this country, a republic, than in a monarchy, because here every cunning,man — 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. iQI 

Italian war of 1859, and of tlie Seven Weeks' War in 186G, 
might disclose some such deafness as affected Daun when 
he left Laudohn to take care of himself at Liegnitz. 
Upon this occasion " neither the Marshal (Daun) nor Lascy 

through the press, or political affiliations —makes himself the representative of a party or 
the available weapon of a "ring." 

As a striking evidence of what difficulties and complications arise from such jealousies 
between generals of equal rank and reputation, even in absolute monarchies, take the 
Case of Gneisenau, in the Waterloo campaign of 1815. His abilities were conceded by all. 
Like Napoleon's idea of the French republic, they needed no acknowledgment. They 
were as clearlj' visible as the sun; the blind could approcTiate them. Throughout the 
campaigns of 1813-'14 (after the untimely fall of Scharnhorst at Lutzen, or Grcss Gor- 
BChen), he had mixed the pills which Blucher administered. NoverthPle.ss, the four 
senior Prussian generals considered "it a point of honor not to allow themselves to be put 
under the command of a junior in commission." Tauexzeik founded his claims on his 
storm of Wittingberg; York on his success (subordinate to the direction of Blucher, and 
according to the plans of Gneisbxau) at Wurtemburg, from which ho derived his title, 
and to his patriotic course at Tauroggen', which committed Prussia to the War of Libera- 
tion for Germany ; Bulow for his undoubtedly glorious conduct at Gross Beeren and 
Dennewitz, and Kleist to his equally conceded decisive gallantry at Culm. What 
was the result? Blucher was indispensable; and if Blucher had command, Gnexs- 
enau was indispensable to him, and, as chief of his staff, and cognizant of his plans, must 
succeed to the supreme command in case of Bluchee's fall or illness. The result was, 
Ta uen zein and York were honorably shelved with peace commands in war time ; Kleist 
received the command of the " army of reserve," which Blucher and Gneisenau, by 
their conduct of affairs, rendered unnecessary ; and Bulow was placed at the head of 
another reserve corps, not expected to be brought into action. He was not at L,igny, and was 
somewhat blamed for dilatoriness at that period of the camjiaign; and as he could not object 
to serve under Blucher, and as Blucher kept the saddle, he was pushed forward into 
Waterloo. That victory settled the matter in regard to the obedience of Prussian generals, 
in 1815, as the victor}' of the Katsbach crushed out all such bickerings in the Eussian lieuten- 
ants of Blucher in 1813. Still, if such thing.s can occur in absolute monarchies, how much 
more likely are they to do so in republics, and the more reason to provide against them by 
instant removals and subsequent severe punishments in case of any display of lukewarm 
co-operation on the part of any corps or division commander. Such jealousies would have 
ruined Napoleon's cause in Spain under the most favorable auspices ; they did ruin it, and 
speedily, under existing circumstances. King Joseph, nominally commander-in-chief, 
could do nothing with the arrogant lieutenants, French marshals sent Tiim by Napoleon 
and Jourdain, his chief of staff (whom the Emperor acknowledged to be a true patriot, 
yet disliked him because he had gained what Napoleon had not— a battle (Fleurus) 
which saved France — a victory as influential, if not more so, than any of his own), threw 
up his hands in despair at the insubordination of those on whose cheerful co-operation 
success inevitably depended. The culmination of the row was Vittoria, and ended the 
French career in Spain. Massena previously had had to send Ney home for positive dis- 
obedience; and Wellington owed more than one escape from the closing vice because 
one jaw, a French marshal (who, according to Lannes' idea, was better than a king) would 
not work evenly, or make his moves subservient to another marshal after such moves 
were indispensable to success. 

SoDLT, in 1814, implored Suchet to join him for the battle of Thoulouse, offering to 
cede the chief command to him and fill a second part if he would do so. Suchet, playing 
the despotic king in Catalonia, liked that duty better than propping a lost cause under 
another ; and taking the hint of Marshal Clarke, Duke of Feltre, the French Minister of 
War, who knew "the thing was played out," "could not see it"— that is, the force of 
Soult's disinterested patriotism ; and so Soult came to grief, and Wellington beat 
him and captured Thoulouse. Pope was exactly in the same plight as Gneisenau, 
Jourdain and Massena. 

51 



402 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, 

(his lieutenant) heard the firing of the artillery, behind Pfaffen- 
dorf, at the distance of half a mile (2 miles English), although 
there were two hundred cannon playing in the two armies," 
and heavy cannon at that. There 'is a similar story told of 
GoEGEY, when he left the First Corps, under Nagy Shandor, 
exposed on the 2d August, 1849, to the attack of the whole 
Russian army, under Paskiewitch. The evening before he said 
to his staff, " To-morrow, Nagy' Shandor will get a dressing ; " 
and yet he, the superior, took no measures to protect his sub- 
ordinate from the licking (WicH.'Si, German) he was sure to 
receive. Our own military records are not free from such an- 
tagonisms. The New England troops would not support 
Schuyler against Burgoyne ; even Starke held back, and 
Lee ruined himself by such conduct at Monmouth, Unfortun- 
ately, history swarms with such exemplifications of the country 
subordinated to self, and at Solferino there was considerable 
ill-feeling evinced at the non-co-operation of one never before so 
reproached, Avhose corps, says Bossoli, was nicknamed by its 
comrades, " La Providence des families." 

Kearny^ seemed to feel none of that unwillingness to serve 
under Pope which actuated so many of his rank in the army of 
the Potomac. He appeared to comprehend the whole case. 

" How do they expect Pope," he wrote, under date of August 
4th, 1862, " to beat, with a very inferior force, the veterans of 
EwELL and Jackson? Get me and my 'fighting division' 
with Pope," and in the same letter, " with Pope's army I would 
breathe again." 

Little did he dream, when he wrote thus, that within three 
weeks he would " breathe freely again," as he desired, and, 
alas ! in another week, breathe no more the breath of this life. 
With what eagerness he looked forward to being relieved from 
what, to him, was the crushing weight of irresolute mediocrity, 
superior in rank, inferior in capacity, vacillating in purpose and 
weak in execution, and of a following {Gefolge) as devoted to 
the interests of their chief, or, rather, through him to their own 
interests, as the Homeric Myrmidons to Achilles, or the Leich- 
tach, or foster-brethren-life-guard, to a Highland chief 

Kearny's breathing again was very much like the rally or 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 403 

flow of spirits in a man about to iDerish, which the Scotch called 
" fey." His prayer was granted, and ^lucHiSfat — the best word 
for Fate, since it signifies something sent by a higher power 
which a mortal cannot shun — relieved him and placed him 
where there was no Laodicean controller of events to fetter his 
ardent soul or trouble his spirit more. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

POPE AND THE " ARMY OF VIRGINIA." 

(No. 2.) 
THE SECOND BATTLE AT MANASSAS.* 

GAINSVILLE, GROVETOX, BULL RUX SECOND. 

" See, her generous troops, 
Whose pay was glorj"-, and their best reward 
Free for their country and for me to die." 

Thomson's "Liberty." 
" The retreat (after Groveton) was conducted in good order across Bull Run. General 
Stahl's brigade was the last to cross Stone Bridge, which was accomplished at midnight, 
without molestation from Lke, who was too much exhausted to make the attempt to rout 
the fortj- thousand men who had resisted the attack of all his troops — the same army 
which had compelled General McClellan, commanding an army of a hundred thousand, 
to move from the Chickahominy to the James. 

"The battle of Grovjcton was, therefore, one of the most bravely fought and obstinate 
contests of the war: — fought by General Pope under adverse circumstances, — great 
inferiority of numbers, with a subordinate commander who disobeyed orders ; with other 
officers who manifested no heart}' co-operatinn. It will be for the future historian to do 
full justice to the brave men who made so noble a fight, who, had the}' been supported as 
tiiey should have been, would doubtless have won a glorious victory." — Casleton's 
"Following the^FCag," pages 180, 181. 

" This latter (Jackson) meets the army of General Pope on the ver}' battle-field of 
Bull-Run ; this time there is no panic, but a dreadful effusion of blood that lasts two days.' 
— •' The United States during the War." By Auguste LAn«Ei,, pages 2-5. 

"KixG's Division of our corps had encountered, near Groveton, Jackson's forces, whom 
Kearny had in the afternoon driViM out of Centreville, and luho were retreating toivai-ds 
Jlioroughfare Gap to form a junction with the main army. About the same time Ricic- 
ETT's Division became engaged with Longstreet'.s Corps, near Thoroughfare Gap, about 
eight miles further west. Both actions were severe, but not decisive for either side."— 
■Woodward's "Our Campaigns" page 176. 

•' Our loss during the day was estimated by General Pope at from six to eight thousand 
killed and wounded and Generals Hooker and Kearny, who had been over the whole 
field, separatel.v estimated the loss of the enemy at from txvo to one and from three to one of 
their own." —Woodward's " Our Octmpaigns," page 181. 

* In the examination of this campaign, the writer has received the greatest a.ssistance 
from army maps and an exquisite series of plans of Pope's battles, furnished to him by 
Major-General A. A. Hdmphreys, Chief-of-Engineers, U. S. A., whose kindness in simi- 
lar respects, has been previously noticed. The plan of the battle-field of C'hantilly was 
drawn for the writer by Brevet Colonel W. H. Paine, Topographical StaflT. The writer 
cannot refrain from expressing his obligations to these gentlemen; also to the latter for 
most valuable information which enabled him to form his judgment. 



BIOGRAPHY OF JIAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 405 

The Impetuosity of Kearny and Hooker's Attack at Bristow and Bull Ritn 2d. 
— " On Wednesday lust, 27tli August, Kearny and Hooker attacked the enemy about one 
and a-half miles beyond iJcistow; the enemj' at that point being commanded bj- CJeneral 
EWELL. Our forces attacked tlie rebels with such impetuosity, that they fell back in some 
confusion at least two miles. Night came on, which saved the enemy from total rout. 
Yesterday (Saturday, 30th August), at daybreak. Generals Kearny and Hooker opened 
the ball, the enemy falling back toward Centreville. At this point our forces came up 
with them, when a severe engagement ensued, which lasted until dark, with heavy losses 
on both sides. The enemy fought with great desperation, and the shades of night again 
caused a cesautiou of hostilities." —iVeiu York Herald, Sunday, Aug. 31st, 1862, p. 5, col. 1. 

" General Hooker, as at Williamsburg, bore the brunt of the battle on Thursday (28th 
August), and as he fought the rebel General Johnston at Williamsburg and defeated 
him, so he fought the rebel General Jackson and utterly routed him. On Friday (29th 
August) he was reinforced by General Ke.\rny's Division, as at Williamsburg, and so 
these two divisions, forming Heintzelman's Corps, drove the enemy to the wall. Hooker's 
and Kearny's Divisions have doiie more fighting llianany others in the Army of the Fotom,ac, 
and their ranks are terribly decimated." — New York Herald, Sept. 2d, 1862, p. 1, col. 3. 

On the night of the 22d of August occurred the *' camisado," 
or surprise, of Catlett's Station, by Stuart. Contrary to the 
opinion generally received as correct, Stuart's Chief-of-Staff, 
VoN BoRCKE, in his "Memoirs of the Confederate War," 
demonstrates that all our troops did not behave badly ; and 
that some of the Union infantry, despite the surprise, storm 
and fearful darkness, stood up to their work like true Northern 
men. On the '23d, Lee was in possession of Pope's secrets; on 
the 24th, his movements, based on their discovery, were ma- 
tured ; and on the 25th, Jackson was off on that daring flank 
march which did result so disastrously to us, but should have 
ended so ruinously to him. 

The very night of Stuart's " onfall," Phil. Kearny, ever 
foremost — as in front of Alexandria, July, 1861 ; as into Cen- 
treville, Manassas, 9-llth March, 1862 ; as xx^ to Williamsburg, 
5t]i May, and at Fair Oaks, 31st May, 1862 — was at Burke's 
Station, and on the morning of August 25th, when Jackson 
moved, at Warrenton. Thus the first, the very first division 
of the " Army of the Potomac," which effectually in its place 
in the line, re-enforced the " Army of Virginia " was Kearny's, 
brought up by the same energy which carried it ahead of, and 
by, all others, for Hooker's salvation, in the first battle of the 
Peninsula. 

Pope had not been surprised, in the true sense of the term, 
by Lee. He was aware of the flanking movement of Jackson ; 
but, even in this critical emergency, he was crippled by the 



/ 



406 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

intermeddling of the Washington War- Junta. This must have 
been the time to which Lincoln alhided, when he said they 
c]ee\l him when they ought to have haw'd him. They tied his 
left to Fredericksburg, wlien he ought to have been allowed to 
cut loose and move to the right. Assurances of s|3eedy re-en- 
forcements were so precise and definite, that he felt warranted 
in holding his position. He was assured that 30,000 would 
reach him by the 25th, but on the evening of that day only 
V,000 or 8,000 had come up. 

On the 26th, Longstreet, who had kept up a show of force 
in front of Pope, yet all the while creeping away to his right, 
commenced his march to unite with Jackson, who, having left 
Salem at daybreak, was passing through Thoroughfare Gap. 
Pope then abandoned the line of the Rappahannock, and under- 
took to throw his whole force in the direction of Gainsville 
and Manassas Junction. On the morning of the 27th he had 
54,000 infantry, made up of his own " Army of Virginia " and the 
re-enforcements which had reached him from Buenside's Corps 
and the Army of the Potomac. He had also nominally 4,000 
cavalry, but their horses were so broken down that hardly 500 
were fit for service. * * * 

Those who most admii-e Napoleon's efibrts in 1814 seem to 
belong to the same class with those who are the loudest in their 
condemnation of Pope, and yet, Although they might not be 
willing to admit it, there is a closer resemblance between the 
plans of Napoleon and those which Pope now sought to exe- 
cute than would appear without critical examination. 

Pope was blamed for setting out Avith the idea that all-absorb- 
ing attention to bases and lines of supply were not indifSpensable 
to success. More than one general, renowned in war, attained 
his object for tiie very reason that he set iron-clad rules at defi- 
ance, and substituted the lights of genius for the laws of blind 
theory. Marlborough achieved his greatest triumj^h, Blen- 
heim, in 1704, by cutting loose from his base and plunging for- 
ward with audacity into the very midst of the enemy. Prince 
Eugene, in 1706, saved Turin, and compelled the French to 
evacuate Italy by a manoeuvre — as a rule, universally con- 
demned — a flank march in the presence of an enemy, after 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 407 

cutting entirely loose from his base. Another wonderful 
instance of a triumphant flank march and turning movement-in- 
attack, is that of Stonkwall Jackson the evening before he 
fell. It will be cited to his credit as long as military history is 
written, and will rank with any on record.* Napoleon him- 
self violated, again and again, acknowledged principles, and 
achieved the most brilliant results when he did so. Frederick 
THE Great, in like manner, ignored what routine generals seek 
to consecrate as principle to cloak their own limited capacity 
or utter incapacity to improvise. Ibrahim Pasha, by a flank 
march, in 1839, on a very small scale in comparison, but still 
similar to that of Prince Eugene, in 1706, turned the Turkish 
position, almost, if not in sight of his antagonist, possessed of 
equal if not superior light cavalry, at Nezib, and ended the 
campaign by destroying the Sultan's army. It is true that it 
does not do for little men to play the big game ; but Pope was 
not a little man. If mere flashes of genius constitute greatness, 
he was as much better a general than McClellan, as the latter 
was better than the commander at Big Bethel. The day will 
come when his campaign of August, 1862, will redound as much 
to his credit as McClellan's whole career will be condemned 
for want of every element of true or brilliant generalship. 

What is more, if Lee had been the great general which blind 
admiration insists that he was, he could have gone to Phila- 
delphia, and heaven only knows how much farther in 1863, if he 
had imitated Marlborough in 1704; Prince Eugene in 1706; 
Napoleon in .l796-'7, in 1805, in 1806, in 1814; and even 
Ibrahim Pasha in 1839. This is susceptible of proof, and 
Major-General Philip Kearny, overestimating Lee, seems to 
have feaced such a result.f It was a fortunate thing for the 



* The secret of the Rebel success at Chancellorsville was the sentiment which filled the 
breasts of the French Republican soldiery of 1792-'", which enabled them to perform such 
undisciplined miracles against disciplined odds. (Witness Carnot's famous Report of the 
4th March, 1795, inserted in J. Talma's " Chronological Account * * of the French Revo- 
lution, 17S9— 1795.") In 1813. the same idea permeated Blucher's "Army of Silesia, as 
attested by its effects upon the Russian general Osten Sachen's reply to firm old Mar- 
shal Forwards, when on the 26th August, 1813, he received the orders to " go in." " Tell 
the*general," he replied. " Hurra ! " — " Adams (Cb., JPeiui.) Sentinel," 1st December, 1813. 

tSee Wilkes' "Spirit of the Times," Vol. VII, No. 25, Oct., 1862, page 118, ICeakny'S 
Letter of 4th August, 1862. 



408 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

North that Stonewall Jackson was effectually disposed of on 
that bright moonlight night, 2d May, 1863, and did not survive, 
as the "right hand," to execute the plans with which his active, 
acute brain inspired Lee, when the latter invaded Pennsylvania 
in June, 1863. 

After the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9th, 1862, analo- 
gous, under some aspects, to that of Brienne, February 1st and 
2d, 1814, Lee made a forward movement on Washington very 
much akin to that of Bluchek toward Paris. On the 9th of 
February, 1814, the Ariny of Silesia was dislocated and strung 
out on the arc of a circle, from the Marne to Montmirail, fifty 
miles from front to rear, very much as the Army of Northern 
Virginia was extended on the 25th and 26th of August, 1862, 
over about the same distance from the Rappahannock to Salem 
and the Thoroughfare Gap. Napoleon at Sezanne occupied 
very much the same position relative to Bluchee, and with the 
same intentions, as Pope at Rappahannock Station, and ther 
Warrenton, to Lee. By a series of actions, attacks in flank, 
by bringing his forces almost as a unit against fractions of his 
enemy, in eight days Napoleon inflicted such a succession of 
defeats upon the Russo-Prussians, as would have settled any 
other antagonist but Blucher.* Pope's efforts lasted almost 
exactly the same time — eight days, August 25th to September 
2d; but, badly sui^ported, if not abandoned, with intentions and 
ideas as clear as those of the French Emperor, he failed where 
Napoleon succeeded. Nevertheless, Pope so crij^pled Lee, 
that had Sheridan or Thomas commanded the " Army of the 
Potomac," the career of the " Army of Northern Virginia " 
would have ended at Antietam, just as " fiery Phil." disposed 
of Early in the Shenandoah Valley, in the autumn of 1864, or 
bull-dog Thomas rubbed out Hood between the Cumberland 
and Tennessee, in December of the same year. What is more, 
Pope's problem involved natural difficulties, which were absent 
from that of Napoleon. The Bull Run Mountains presented 



* "That old devil (Blucher) always attacked me with the same vigor. If he was worsted 
the next moment lie demonstrated that he was ready to renew the tight." —Napoleon's 
" complimentary tribute to the bull-dog tenacity of Blucher," addressed to Major- 
General Slit Niel Campbell in 1814. — Littell's Living Age, 1302, 15th May, 1869, p. 44" (2> 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 400 

a screen to Lee's operations, which were entirely wanting to 
those of BLUcnER, On the other liaiid, Napoleon e.xei'cistd 
despotic authority, and the supersedure of Victor demonstrated 
how little attention he paid to the rank or feelings of a subordi- 
nate, who did not come to time or answer his expectations. 
Napoleon was ably supported, whereas Pope, to use tlie lan- 
guage of the coadjutor on whom everything depended, was 
" left to get out of his scrape " as best he could. Viewed in 
the light of truth and weighed in the scale of justice. Pope's 
eight days in August, 1862, will not compare unfivorably, when 
existing circumstances, human difficulties and natural obstacles 
are taken into account, to Napoleon's eight days, 9th to 17th 
of February, 1814. 

On the morning of the 26th, Jackson rushed through the 
Thoroughfare Gap with the same fiery energy with which Mon- 
trose, in 1645, swooped down upon Argyle. At sundown, he 
was at Bristow Station, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, 
which constituted Pope's principal line of supply, directly in 
Pope's rear. Trimble, with two regiments of infantrj^, about 
500 men, and Stuart, Avith his two brigades of cavalry, pressed 
on, hot foot, through the darkness, to Manassas Junction, where 
they captured a vast amount of stores : in fact, this was the 
only grand depot short of Washington. With the exception 
of little above what was about sufficient to feed Jackson's hun- 
gry followers for a single day, everything was destroyed. The 
rebels swept on along the line of the railroad, to Burke's Sta- 
tion, within twelve miles of Alexandria. 

Here Brigadier-Genei-al Taylor, who succeeded Kearny in 
the command of the latter's glorious First New Jersey Bri- 
gade — Kearny's own, which grew from a pygmy into a giant 
under his fostering care — 1,000 men, was hurled upon Ewell. 
On the 26th August, at Bull Run Bridge, it was called upon to 
confront " the entire corps of Stoneavall Jackson," comprising, 
according to Greeley (ii, 181 [1]), "ten brigades and twelve 
batteries." As may be imagined, it was obliged to fall back, hav- 
ing lost, in killed, wounded, prisoners and missing, 283, over a 
quarter of the number which were engaged. Its commander, 
mortally wounded, lingered to die on the very same day that 

52 



410 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. ' 

Kearny fell, 1st September, 1862. Foster records that Stone- 
wall Jackson " said that he had rarely seen a body of men who 
stood lip so gallantly in the face of overwhelming odds as did 
the Jersey troops on this occasion." Kearny's teaching and 
example had not been lost with the troops he had made. 
Kearny's sjairit was with them and in them to the last. 

To any one of common sense, this must show clearly the utter 
want of foresight which compelled Pope to cling so long to 
Fredericksburg. It was a complete illusti'ation of the invariable 
tactics of the Austrian Aulic Council, always desirous of hold- 
ing everything, even the unimportant to the neglect of the 
essential, and thereby losing everything. When will men learn ? 
When will common sense rule? Will humanity ever profit by 
the lessons of the past ? Alas ! it is to be feared never, if 
civilians, or politicians, or pedants are to exercise the chief com- 
mand, and men like Kearny be shoved, like a plug, into the 
gap to lose their lives in stopping the torrent let in by inca- 
pacity and worse. 

Pope and Lee were now in situations equally dangerous, in 
some respects. It is true that Pope's communications were cut 
and the enemy was in his rear ; still Pope's re-enforcements 
were coming up in that very quarter, and with ordinary energy 
could sweep away the audacious foe — with a little alacrity, 
annihilate him. The rebel generals, on the other hand, had so 
dislocated their forces that two days' march intervened between 
their right and left. Frederick, under such circumstances, 
would have exclaimed, like Cromwell at Dunbar, that the 
Lord had delivered the enemy into his hand ; Napoleon would 
have declared, as on the IStli Brumaire, that the god of war 
and the god of victory was on his side ; Blucher would have 
sworn a thousand hoiiest oaths, tossed his pipe into the air like 
Dole at Haynau, or Seydlitz at Rosbach, and cut in. 

Pope had ability enough to appreciate his opportunity, but 
he was clogged with the half-heartedness of those with whom 
he had to operate. Fortunately he had a few stalwart and true 
subordinates. On the 27th of August he hurled Hooker upon 
EwELL, who was driven back with a loss of a pnrt of his bag- 
gage. On the 28th, he launched " the prompt " Kearnt against 



BIOGEAPHT OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 411 

Jackson, Kearny, like the Douglass, "ever faithful and 
true," drove Jackson's rear guard out of Centerville, late in the 
afternoon of the 28th, and the main body of the Confederates 
fled by the way of the Sudley Springs Road and Warrenton 
Turnpike, destroying the bridges over the little streams behind 
them. Porter, who was to have supj^orted Kearny, " failed 
utterly to obey the orders which were sent to him, giving as an 
excuse that his men were tired, although his corps was by far 
the freshest in the whole army."* Thus the blow by which 

* " Had Barclay de Tolly (after Dresden, 1813) obeyed the order and joined Oster- 
MANN's corps on the Pirna road, the force in that direction would have been strong enough 
to make head, both against Vandammk and the French Guards ; but the Russian com- 
mander, conceiving that he might be placed in great peril if the French pushed rapidly 
along the Pirna road, that he nMgkt even be cut off and encompassed by the principal part 
of their army,— which, had they followed the pursuit vigorously, was very possible,— took 
upon himself to disobey the order of the Field-Marshal, and, to save his own corps, en- 
dangered that of the whole army.—'' Tltc Fall of Napoleon." " The Rising of the Nations,' 
by Maj.-Gen. J. Mitchell, vol. ii. pages 67 and 68. 

'•AH night Austrian and Russian troops continued to pour into the plain; and orders 
were sent to General Kleist, directing him to hasten the march of his Prussians, and 
arrive in time to share the honors of tho battle. The ofHcer who carried this order found 
the road so completely encumbered with artillery and wagons of every description, that 
he was forced to dismount and make his way on foot; but these obstacles damped not Ihc 
zeal of the Prussian commander, ivho declared that he ivould cross the summit of the mountains 
rather than fail the cause m danger's hour, a resolution as bravely acted upon as it fuxd been 
formed."—" The Fall of Napoleon." " T/ie Rising of the Nations," by Maj.-Gen. J. Mitchell, 
■vol. ii. page 74. 

"The battle of Dennewitz was fought and gained by 47,000 Prussians, contending against 
more than 60,000 French, that actually came into fire, and reflects as much credit on the 
gallantry of the troops as on the skUl, zeal and energy of the commanders. The conduct 
of BuLOW, brother of the author of the ' Modern System of War,' and who confessed that 
he derived all his military knowledge ftom the works of that unfortunate writer, is spoken 
of as above all praise; and even Pelet admits that the Prussian generals manceuvered 
with the greatest ability. 

" French historians, an.xious at all price to uphold the infallibility of Napoleon, had 
aecrfoed the defeat at Dennewitz, and the failure of the e.xpeditlon against Berlin, to the 
tardy arrival of Marshal Oudixot, who, with ;the twelfth corps, only reached the battle- 
fleid at two o'clock in the afternoon. The charge of tardiness brought against the marshal 
may not be wUhout frmndation, and his defense is far from satisfactory ; but the writers who 
lay so touch stress on the late arrival of a single French corps, forgot the non-arrival of 
more than half the allied army who ought to have been present in the field ; and on the 
absence of which neither Napoleon nor any general projecting a plan of attack on Berlin 
could ever have calculated. If Oudinot was discontented, as it is usual to assert, wAa? 
care be said of Napoleon- who left that officer to serve in a subordinate capacity in the very 
army froEQ the chief command of which he had just been removed, in a manner that 
might almost be termed insulting. Could any one, possessing the slightest knowledge of 
human character, have committed such an error at such a moment ? The world has been 
stunned with the praise heaped on Napoleon's pretended skill in appreciating individ- 
uals ; and yet how vastly inferior, in tact and judgment, was his conduct here to that of 
Sciiwabzenbeeg placing the disobedient Barclay de Tolly in command of the troops 
certain to conquer at Culm, and of Blucher's reclaiming the envious Lanqeron by 
treating his misconduct as an oversight of orders." " The Fall of Napolecm," " TTte Rising 
tifthe Nc^ions," by Maj.-Gen. J. Mitehell, vol. il. page 95. 



4rl2 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

PaPE justly calculated to bag Jackson, or destroy him, failed 
thLfoagh the noii-cooperatioii of McClellan's favorite corps 
commander.* 

On the same afternoon that Kearny drove Jackson ont of 
Centreville, Longstreet fought his way through Thorougfare 
Gap,, to the relief of his liard-pressed rebel associates. 

The wedge which Pope had fasliioned and pointed with the 
steel of a Kearny and a Hooker, to split asnnder Lee's army, 
had failed because the beetle of the reserve would not give 
force to the blow. Pope, hoAvever, " instead of being ground 
to powder, had manoBuvred so admirably," that, had he been 
supjjoi'ted by all his subordinates as he had been by Kearny 
and Hooker, Jackson, instead of himself, would have crum- 
bled beneath the upper and nether millstone. Nevertheless, the 
grand opportunity had not been improved. The probability 
had sunk into a possibility. 

"^Tlie morning of the 29th of August dawned calm, clear 
and beautiful."! It was the dawn of the first day's battle of 
Bull Run Second, generally known as the Battle of Groveton. 
" Kearny and Hooker were astir at daylight," to quote the 
language of an eye-Avitness. " They crossed the stream at the 
Stone Bridge, swung out into the fields, and moved north toward 
S«dley S^jrings, forcing Jackson back on Longstreet, who 
was resting after his hard march ; his men eating a hearty mea! 
from the stores captured at Manassas. He was in no condition 
to fight at that early hour. 

" Time slipped away — precious hours ! McDowell bad not 
come. Porter had not been heard from. ' Longstreet is get' 
ting ready,' was the report of the scouts. 

"Noon passed; one o'clock came around. * Longstreet is 
joining Jackson,' was the word from the pickets. 

" The attack must be made at once, if ever. It began at two 
o'clock by Hooker and Kearny on the right, pushing through 

* " The rebels came on and swept everything before them, completely turning the lefS 
wing of the army. Tliere was no support whatever behind us, and somebody was evi- 
dently to blame ; it looked to me as if it was left so on purpose to defeat Pope — the old 
corps commanders of the Army of the Potomac being jealous of him, and not willing to 
co-operate with him." — Page 152, Sohlieis' Letters, edited by Lydia Mintubx Post. 

f These are the words of Carleton (an eye-witneas of much that he records), in his 
" FoUowing the Flag," chap, x, page 169, etc. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. • 413 

the woods and across the fields between Dogan's house and 
Sudley Church. 

" The veterans of the Peninsula move upon an enemy whoni 
thej^ have met before. Jackson has made the line of a half- 
finished railroad his defense, and his men are behind the 
embankment and in the excavations. It is a long, desperate 
conflict. There are charges upon the enemy's lines and rej^ulses. 
Three — four — five o'clock, and PopvTer has not come. Mc- 
Dowell, who should have marched north-west to Groveton, to 
meet Longstreet, has, Mirough some mistake, marched east of 
that place, and joined the line where Kearny^ and Hookee are 
driving Jackson. 

" At this hour, sunset on August 29th, Kearny, Hooker and 
Reno are pushing west, north of the turnpike, close upon the 
heels of Jackson. King's Division, of McDowell's Corps, is 
moving west along the turnpike, past Dogan's house, to attack 
what has been Jackson's right centre, but which is now the 
left centre of the united forces of Jackson and Longstreet. 
Sigel's brigades have been shattered, and are merely holding 
their ground south of the turnpike. Oh ! if Porter, with his 
12,000 fresh troops, was only there to fall on Jackson's right 
flank ! But he is not in sight. Nothing has been heard from 
him. He has had all day to march five miles over an unob- 
structed road. He has had his imperative orders — has heard 
the roar of battle. He is an officer in the regular service, and 
knows that it is the first requisite of an officer or a soldier to 
obey orders. 

" Longstreet is too late upon the ground to make an attack 
with his whole force. The sun goes down and darkness comes 
on. The contest for the day is over. Jackson has been driven 
on his right, and Heintzelman's Corps holds the ground. Both 
armies sleep on their arms. The auspicious moment for crush- 
ing Jackson has passed." 

Let us see how McClellan views* things on this momentous 
day (at 2:45 p. m., August 29th, 1862), while the battle of Bull 
Run Second was raging, and when the fate of the National 

* " Berthier's hatred of Jomini drove the latter out of French service and cost Napo- 
rxAS Dennewitz, since the same talent won Friedland." — Littell, 1301, 8, 5, 69, 378. 



414 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Capital was trembling in the balance. He takes a mathematical 
view of the situation, tabulates it, and telegraphs to the Presi- 
dent : 

" * * * I am clear that one of two courses should be 
adopted : first, to concentrate all our available forces to open 
communication with Pope; second, to leave Pope to get out of 
his scrape, and at once use all our means to make the Capital 
perfectly safe. No middle ground will now answer." 

This was pliilosophic, if not patriotic. 

It is related that " when President Lincoln read the despatch 
cited above, he was so hoiTor-stricken, he fell back in his chair." 
This despatch alone, perhaps, might have been explained, but 
it must be taken in connection with McClellan's action in 
regard to ammunition and provisions.* To the demand for the 
one, the reply is, " I know nothing of the calibres of Pope's 
artillery;" for the other, he' required Pope to furnish a cavalry 
escort, when Pope's cavalry were so completely used up " tliat 
there were not five horses to the company that could be 
forced to the trot." And then, when the officer in com- 
mand of re-enforcements, which could have saved every- 
thing, and have retrieved all that had been lost, when he 
delayed so that he was not present when most needed, McClel- 
LAN telegraphs, *' I am responsible," etc.f 



* " He (Pope) had sent to Alexandria for provisions. General McClellan was there. 
The Armj' of the Potomac, when it arrived there, was in the department commanded by 
General Pope, and was, therefore, subject to his orders, which left McClrllan without a 
command. Franklin and Sumner, with thirty thousand men, were moving out and 
could guard the trains. At daylight, while General Pope was forming his lines, endeavor- 
ing to hold at bay the army before which McClellan had retired to the Chickahominy. 
Savage Station, Glendale and Blalvern, General McCjlellan informed General Pope that 
the supplies would be loaded into cars and wagons as soon as Pope would send in a cavalry 
escort to guard the trains ! 

" ' Such a letter,' says General Pope, 'when we were fighting the enemy, and Alexan- 
dria swarming with troops, needs no comment. Bad as was the situation of the cavalry, 
I was in no situation to spare troops from the front, nor could they haive gone to Alexan- 
dria and returned within a time by which we must have had provisions or have fallen 
back in the direction of Washington. Nor did I see what service cavalry could give in 
guarding railroad trains. It was not till I received this letter tliat I began to feel discour- 
aged and nearly hopeless of any successful issue to the operations with which I was 
charged.' " — Carleton's " FoUoivlng (he Flag," pp. 175-'(i. 

+ Without comment or endorsement or opinion, the following is inserted for what it may 
be worth. 

General Von Vegesack, the Swedish officer who served for sever^ years In the "Army 
Qf the Potomac," says in his recent work on the American war, that one of the most 



BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 415 

On the 28tli and 29tli, Kearny's Division formed the extreme 
right, and right well it did its duty. Did Kearny ever do it 
otherwise? On the 28th, Pope had the opportunity to put in 
, practice the golden rule of tactics, to bring his force as a unit 
to bear upon a fraction of the enemy's force. On the morning 
of the 29th, there Avas still a chance. On that night, the chance 
was with Lee. 

The morning of the 30th dawned as calm, clear and beautiful 
as on the preceding day of slaughter. It was as beautiful a 
Sabbath morning as that on which the first great conflict of 
the war was fought, on the same ground, but under what differ- 
ent auspices ! as lovely as that Sabbath morning when the same 
troops, under trusty Reno and honest Hooker, forced the 
principal pass of the South Mountain, defended by the same 
bitter but earnest D. H. Hill and the same able Longstreet, 
who encountered them on the plains of Manassas. 

The night was to witness a reverse as terrible in the imagina- 
tions of the Northern people as that of July 21st, 1861, but 
not attributable to the like cause, as might be shown could the 
grave or the ashes of burnt war archives reveal their secrets. 

The Army of Virginia, notwithstanding its re-enforcements, 
had dwindled again, through privation, sickness, fatigue and 
casualties in battle, to forty thousand men. Lee had sixty to 
eighty thousand ; perhaps, could the real facts be come at, even 
more. If ever the rebels displayed audacious — which in most 
cases is true — generalship, it was in the campaign from the 
Rapidan to Antietam. They seemed to adapt their lines to 
the ground in the most masterly manner. Kearny was the 
only one who equalled them in this respect. His success on 
the 29th was due to his topographical explorations during the 
previous spring. On the 29th, the rebel line of battle was a 
perfect exemplification of engineering, as applied to tactics. It 
was something between a ( and an L. The left, or perpendicu- 
lar, under Jackson, rested on Sudley Springs, and it extended 
thence to Warrenton pike, about a mile and a-half west of 

grievous mistakes wliich President Lincoln committed during the early part of the war, 
was that he did not order General McClellan to be court-martialed after the disastrous 
campaign on the Peninsula, as he was urged to do by several generals and by the Secretary 
of Wax."— "Soldiers' Friend," 27th February, 1869. 



416 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAKNY. . 

Groveton. Then there was an interval comparative!}^ unoccu- 
pied; bat in this interval there was a high knoll or ridge of 
land, which commanded two-thirds of Lee's front. Behind 
the crest of this ridge stood fortj-eight pieces of artillery, with 
nothing but their muzzles visible.* The rebel right, constitu- 
ting the horizontal of the J_, bent round to the south-east across 
the Manassas Gap railroad. Any one who has made such mat- 
ters a study, mlist regard these dispositions_.of jne« and gun^ 
very much as an artist views a gem in painting or sculpture. 
These forty-eight pieces of artillery could be trained to sweep 
the Avhole ground in front of both of the rebel wings. Their 
concentrated mass resembled a gigantic pistol — to use one of 
the expressions attributed to Napoleon, which he kept in 
reserve to aim at 'the vulnerable point or lieart of his adversary. 
Kearny refers to these guns in his report, where he states that 
he " suffered in the morning from an enfilading fire of the 
enemy's batteries." 

Pope's forty thousand men were crowded within the horns 
of this crescent. Hooker was on his extreme right, Kearny 
next, then Reno. It is said that Lee and Pope had both 
resolved to attack with their right. Lee certainly did, and it 
was his move to cut Pope ofi" from his supplies of all kinds. 
Hooker, Kearny and Reno held their ground, and actually 
drove the superior masses of the enemy ; but the rebels had the 
best upon the other wing, which was outflanked and over- 
powered. The battle lasted until it was put an end to by the 
darkness. Then Kearny, and those who had borne the brunt 
of the fighting on so many fields, covered the retreat. 

" I served with the ,same army corps as Kearny," are the 
words of a friend directed to the writer, " during the Peninsular 
campaign, under Heintzelman, and need not recapitulate to 
you its story. The last time I saw him was on the second day 
of the battle of Manassas, August 30th, 1862, in the forenoon. 
He was then much excited and mortified at the result of the 
failure to support the attack he had been directed to make from 



* " A similar concentration of fifty-eight guns tore to pieces the rebels under Bbecken- 
BiDGK, at Stone River." — The Story of a Regiment, Sixth Ohio Vols., G. Hannafobd, 
page 400. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY 417 

our rig'lit, on the day previous, on tlie enemy's left, and criticized 
Pope severely, as Avas, in fact, just, for such bhindering I never 
Avitnessed. I said to liini : 'Phil., this is the day which is to 
decide this battle, is it not ? ' ' I^o,' said he. ' Don't say so 
to any one else, but the chance of success was thrown avKiy on. 
yesterday. Had Pope supported my flank attack by a vigorous 
charge on the enemy's front, we must have overwhelmed Jack- 
son's inferior force. It is too bad, for I lost many fine fellows 
in gaining the ground we can now never recover.' " (This was 
not Pope's fault, hoAvcA^er, though it seemed to be so at the 
time. The blame lay with those who did not execute Pope's 
orders or work in together to carry out his jjlans. One received 
his deserts according to the decision of his peers ; hoAv many 
did not receive theirs, Heaven alone knoAvs.) " ' But,' said I, 
' Ave are still superior in point of numbers, and may decide the 
fight in our favor to-day.' He hesitated, evidently uiiAvilling to 
speak out, and then said : ' We must all do our best ; but I 
sincerely hope Lee and Longstreet aa^II not be here to-day.' 
This was about noon, and our short interview was suddenly cut 
oif by the sound of cannon on our left announcing the arrival 
of the worthies he spoke of on the field. He rode to a batter}^ 
in our front, and I lost sight of him. The battle had begun, and 
we were soon all busy again as Ave had been the day before. I 
Avas Avounded that afternoon and sent to the rear, and the next 
day, September 3d, learned the fate of our poor Phil. Kearny. 
He died at an inopportune moment, for he would have had 
command of the Army of the Potomac, and, had he been 
untrammeled in that position, the Avar would have ended two 
years sooner than it did, for he Avas the best general and the 
most thorough soldier in the country. This ending, hoAvever, 
was not in the programme." 

" The forces of Pope Avere noAV in sad condition. Defeated, 
disheartened, lacking food, and Avearied Avith continual Avatch- 
ing, fighting and marching, thousands had straggled from their 
commands, and those that remained fought with little hope. 
The truth was, they lacked confidence in their commander. 
Their instinct was not very incorrect. They followed McClel- 
LAN more readily than Pope, but even he had not fully their 
53 ; 



418 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

hearts. * * * Such of the troops as were led by Kearny, 
Hooker and Reno were ever ready — disi)irited at last, indeed, 
but always ready when their generals led. 

" With this half-despairing array. Pope, nevertheless, detei'- 
mined again to fight the victorious rebels. Better, perhaps, to 
have retired upon McClellan, since he and his corps com- 
manders seemed resolved not to advance to him. The disposi- 
tion of the troops was as follows : Heintzelman, whose corps 
contained Hooker and Kearny, held the right of our lines, 
McDowell the left, while Fitz-John Porter, Sigel and Reno 
held the centre. By one of those accidents which sometimes 
occur in war, Lee and Pope had each determined to attack his 
adversary's left. So, wlien Pope pushed forward for that pur- 
pose, he found no troops, and hence it was concluded that Lee 
was retreating up the Warrcnton turnpike tOAvard Gainesville. 
So, McDowell was* ordered, with three corps, Porter's in 
advance, to follow up the enemy, and j^ress him vigorously the 
whole day. But this provoked a heavy fire from the Confeder- 
ate artillery, and, while the advance was checked, clouds of 
dust on the left showed that the enemy was moving to turn our 
extreme left. Immediately McDowell detached Reynolds 
from Porter's left, and directed him on a position south of the 
"Warrenton turnpike, so as to check this menace. This j)osition 
was a hill, called Bald Hill, situate west of another hill, on 
which the Henry house stands, between them being a brook or 
creek. While it was judicious in McDowell to occupy this 
point, the detachment of Reynolds for that purjiose exposed 
the key-j)oint of Porter's line. The enemy saw this, and 
poured in a destructive fire of artillery, and Porter's troops, 
about five o'clock p. m., gave way and retired from the field. 
The Confederate line then advanced to cut ofl" the retreat of the 
Union forces ; Bald Hill was carried ; it became doubtful 
whether even the " Henry House Hill " could be maintained so 
as to cover our retreat over Bull Run, for Longstreet had 
thrown around his right so as to menace that position. What 
I have said will enable us better to understand the further 
report of Kearny. 

" ' We took no part,' he says, ' in the fight of the mcrning, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 419 

although we lost men by the enfilading fire of the enemy's batr 
teries. A sudden and unaccountable evacuation of the field by 
the left and centre occurring about five o'clock p. m., on order 
from General Pope, I massed my troops at the indicated point, 
but soon re-occupied, with Birney's Brigade, supported by 
Robinson, a very advanced block of woods. The key-point of 
this new line rested on the Brown house toward the creek. 
Tins was held by regiments of other brigades. Soon, however, 
themselves attacked, they ceded ground, and retired without 
warning us. I maintained my position till ten o'clock p. m., 
when, in connection with General Reno and General Gibbon, 
assigned to the rear-guard, I retired my brigade. My com- 
mand arrived at Centerville, in good order, at two o'clock this 
morning, and encamped in front of the Centerville forts. My 
loss, in killed and wounded, is over 750 — about one in three — ■ 
none taken prisoners, except my engineer officer,* Avho returned 
to the house supposed to be held by the trooj^s alluded to.' 

*On August 31st, an incident occurred whicti is worth narrating. General Keaeny had 
on his staff at that time Second Lieutenant J. C. Briscoe, a tall, soldierly-loolfing Irish- 
man, who, after graduating as a civil engineer at Dublin University, came to America to 
seek his fortune, without friends, without intluence, and without money * * * 

During the fall (1861) General Majtsfield procured his promotion to the rank of Second 
Lieutenant. In the spring of 1862, his regiment was puf into the brigade of General Hamil- 
ton, and during the Peninsular Campaign was part of General TCeakny's division. On 
May 30th, 1862, Lieutenant Briscoe was superintending the digging of rifle-pits, and hw 
overcoat concealed his shoulder-straps. General Kearny riding up criticised in rather 
severe terms the plan of the works, and inquired for the officer in charge. Lieutenant 
Briscoe answered, and gave his reasons for constructing the works as he had. General 
Kearny at once admitted that he was wrong, and apologized, addressing Briscoe as 
Colonel. 

" I am not a Colonel," said Briscoe. 

" Well, then, Major." 

" I am not a Major." 

" What the d— 1 are you ?" asked Keabny. ■* 

" A Second Lieutenant, sir." 

" Do you want to go on my staff as Engineer Officer?" said the General. 

" Yes," said Briscoe, " I should like it very much." 

When Briscoe returned to camp he found the order for the detail on the staff of General 
Kearny, where he remained until August 31st, 1862, when he went to Libby Prison. * * 

The incident of August 31, 1862, to which reference has been made, illustrates Briscoe's 
coolness, without which no soldier can gain the admiration of his comrades. About nocn 
he ho,d been sent by General Kearny to carry an order to a remote part of the lines. 
When returning, about four o'clock, he met the General riding with General Birney. 
After hearing Briscoe's report, Kearny directed him to accompany him to a house at 
some distance from the point where they were standing, which he had selected as his head- 
quarters for the night. Briscoe replied, "That house. General, is in possession of the 
enemy: when I rode by it I narrowly escaped being taken prisoner." 

"Nonsense," said Keabny, " you are timid, Lieutenant, come ahead," 



420 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" Translated, this report shows the state of the case. It was 
HeintzelmajST — namely, Keakny and Hooker — who was to 
make the attack and open the battle. The enemy having massed 
to the other side of the line, they remained in position. When 
all was lost, Kearny remained and covered the retreat. He 
was ever in the post of danger, for he was always reliable and 
never to be defeated. 

" Arrived at Centerville, where were the corps of Franklin 
and Sumner, Pope remained there during all the 31st of 
August. And then Kearny penned the report from which I 
have quoted, the last he ever wrote."* 

Amid all the misrepresentations in regard to the second day 
of the battle of Bull Run Second, one fair man has lifted np 
his voice in defense of the maligned Pope and calumniated 
Army of Virginia: " The army retreated in order. It had suf- 
fered a defeat ; but there was no disgraceful panic, like that 
which had marked the close of the battle fought a year before 
almost on the same ground." 

When the reader reflects that Pope, " gee'd and haw'd " from 
Washington, with forty thousand troops, gathered from where- 
ever lay-timidity had previously bedropjjed them, held in check, 
for ten days, Lee, with his hundred thousand victorious, first- 
class soldiers, all as perfectly in hand as a four or six-horse team 
under a good driver, who gathers up his reins and distributes 
them between the proper fingers, it is very hard to excuse the 
general, who, with over one hundred thousand picked troops, 
acting on his own j^lans, for not ruining an array inferior 
in number and quality, under Johnson, after Williamsburg 
and Fair Oaks, or Lee, after Gaines' Mills, Glendale and Mal- 
vern, as well as at various intermediate points and moments, 

" Well, sir," rejoined Bsiscoe, " if you think I am mistaken, let me ride in advance; if 
our men hold the house, I will fire my pistol ; if I do not return, you may know I am a pris- 
oner." 

" All right," replied Kearny, and Briscoe rode forward into the rebel lines, was taken 
prisoner and sent to Libby Prison, of which he had the honor of being one of the first in- 
mates. He thus saved Kearny and Birney from capture, for the same rashness which 
would have impelled Kearny to have gone to the house which he proposed, led him for- 
ward the next day within the lines of the enemy, where he fell mortally wounded. — Life 
of David Bell Birney, Major General United States Volunteers: Philadelphia, King & 
Baird, 607 Sansoin street ; New York, Sheldon & Co., 400 Broadway, 18G7 ; pages 64-68. 

* " Philip Kearny, Soldier and Patriot," by Cortlandt Parker, pp. 35-38. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 421 

•vrhen a feline or leonine spring, in the manner of Frederick 
or Napoleon, or Radetsky, or Von Moltke, would have car- 
ried the Army of the Potomac triumphantly into the rebel 
capital. 

There is one thing certain — that is, whatever may have been 
Pope's faults and mistakes, shunning exposure and responsibility 
on the battle-field was not one of them. It cannot be said of 
liim, as was charged against his rival, of " even keeping him- 
self purposely in the rear in critical seasons" (mark ! there is no 
charge here of want of manliness), "to avoid the embarass- 
ment of having to act and direct when consulted." Of Pope, 
an officer, able, brave and exj^erienced, often quoted, remarked : 
" He was the first general, in chief command, I had ever seen 
present on the battle-field under fire." 

Shame to those who, to screen the guilty in high places and 
popular illusions, dip their pens in gall and vilify their own peo- 
ple and their own section ! Our army had suiFered terribly — 
probably eleven thousand would scarcely cover the total loss ; 
but the simple possession of the battle-field had cost the rebels 
between eight and nine thousand men. Had the troops Avith 
w^hicli Alexandria was swarming been up to support their out- 
numbered brethren — the foot fasting, foot-sore and worn out ; 
the cavalry fagged out and almost destitute of serviceable 
horses ; or had McClellan sent forward supplies, a glorious 
victory would have rewarded the valor of the Army of Vir- 
ginia. 

August ^ 1 St was a day of rest and recuperation, as far as the 
terrible storm which set in would permit. The rebels, under 
Jackson, attempted to repeat their flanking movement on our 
right ; but the tempest delayed their march, so that there was 
no collision. 

During this twenty-four hours of partial respite, Kearny 
prepared his last report, which he never lived to sign. It was 
found among his papers, and is an evidence of that astonishing 
energy and application, whenever duty demanded an exertion, 
which characterized Phil. Kearny. This is the report from 
which the preceding sentences are quoted. 



422 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" Thence, too " (at Center ville), " he wi-otea letter in pencil,* 
among the treasures of his family a striking exhibition of his 
wonderful elasticity, his positive enjoyment of conflict." 

" I am permitted," says Parker, in his eloquent address, " to 
nse this relic. ' I wrokte you yesterday morning. Since then 
there has been a sort of Bull Run episode to the first day's 
fight. * * * It is dangerous work to fight in this army ; 
you have to fight ten times your share, and expose yourself, to 
j^revent the demoralizing effect of almost cowardice in others. 
Hooker's Division is almost the only exception. This army 
ran like sheep, all but a General Reno and a General Gibbon. 
As for myself, I was abandoned shamefully. My only salvation 
depended on holding a certain hill and house in the rear adjoin- 
ing me. In the darkness of twilight, the enemy came, fired a 
few trifling shots, and Stevens' people ran, we alongside never 
dreaming of it. The worst was, ****** never 
informed me. I had a staff-ofiicer taken prisoner, and I was 
only a few yards behind him. It was perfectly ridiculous ; but 
he was so unsuspicious that I could not help him, as scouts 
were stealing in all around me. He was so surprised ; it was 
very funny. I will tell you some other time. My regiments 
behaved like perfect loves — so beautifully steady. I stayed 
for more than three hours after all the Americans but Reno 
and Stevens had left, and Reno was as much to the left as I 
w'as to the right, behaving very handsomely. My friend, 
General Towers, Avas wounded. 

" ' This disaster is not Pope's fault, but rather Halleck's 
a7id McClelLxVn's, hif^h generals in places they are not fit for. 

" ' It is tiresome to have one's victories ignored, as at Sangs- 
ter's Station, and Williamsburg, and on the Newmarket road, 
and to be confounded, though fighting hard and successfully, 
and exposing myself, as my nature unfortunately is, in other 
people's defeats. Yesterday would have been extremely amus- 
ing, from its ridiculousness, if not so sad for oiir cause. Our 

* This was supposed to have been his last letter ; but Brigadier-General V told the 

writer last June that he had received a disinterested communication, dictated by the most 
generous impulses, which from the date and attending circumstances must have been 
penned by Kearny only a few hours before his movement to the field on which he fell. 
General V would have forwarded a copy, but he had loaned or given it away. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 4£3 

men would not fight one bit ; it was amusing to watch them, 
I foresaw it all three hours before it took place. But I am 
sorry for the cause.' " 

DOCUMENTS, REPORTS, ETC. 

HEADQUARTERS, FIRST DIVISION. THIRD CORPS,-) 
OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, y 

Centreviixe, Vikqinia, August 31, 1S62. J 
Colonel Geoege D. Ruggles, 

Clilef of Staff to Mctjor-Qeneral John Pope : 

Colonel :— I report the part taken by my division iu the battles of the two previous 
days. 

On the twenty-ninth, on my arrival, I was assigned to the holding of the right wing — my 
left ou the Leesburg road. I posted Colonel Poe, with Berry's Brigade, iu first Ihie, 
General Robinson, First Brigade, on his right, partly in line and partly in support, and 
Birney's most disciplined regiments reserved and ready for emergencies. Towards noon 
I was obliged to occupy a quarter of a mile additional on left of said road from Schurtz' 
troops being talien elsewhere. 

During the ilrst hours of combat. General Birney, ou tired regiments in the centre 
felling back, of his own accord rapidly pushed across to give them a hand to raise them- 
selves to renewed fight. 

In early afternoon General Pope's order, per General Robebts, was to send a pretty 
strong force diagonally to the front to relieve the centre, in the woods, from pressure. 
Accordingly, I detached on that purpose General Robinson with his Brigade, the Sixty- 
third Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Hays, the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, Captain Craig, the Twentieth Indiana, Colonel Brown, and additionally 
the Michigan Marksmen under Colonel Champlin. Gen. Robinson drove forward for 
several hundred j-ards, but the centre of the main battle being shortly after driven back 
anil out of the woods, my detachment thus exposed so considerably in front of all others, 
both fianks in air, was obliged to cease to advance, and confine themselves to holding 
their own. At five o'clock, thinking — though at the risk of exposing my fighting line to 
being enfiladed — that I might dri%-e the enemy by an unexpected attack through the 
woods, I brought up additionally the most of Birney's regiments, the Fourth Maine, 
Colonel Walker and Lieutenant-Colonel Cakver, the Fortietli New York. Colonel 
Egan, First New York, Major Burt, and One Hundred and First New York, Lieutenant 
Colonel Gesnee, and changed front to the left, to sweep with a rush the first line of tho 
enemy. This was most successful. The enemy rolled up on his own right ; it jDresaged a 
victory for us all ; still our force was too light. The enemy brought up rapidly heavy 
reserves, so that our further progress was impeded. General Stevens came up gallantly 
in action to support us, but did not have the numbers. 

On the morning of the thirtieth. General Ricketts, with two brigades, relieved me of 
my extra charge of the left of the road, and I again concentrated my command. We 
took no part in the fighting of the morning, although we lost men by an enfilading fire 
of the enemy's batteries. A sudden and unaccountable evacuation of the field, by the 
left and centre, occurring about five p. m., on orders from General Pope, I massed my 
troops at the indicated point, but soon re-occupied with Birney's Brigade, supported by 
Robinson's, a very advanced block of woods. The key point of this new line rested on 
the Brown house towards the creek ; this was held by regiments of other brigades ; soon, 
however, themselves attacked, they ceded ground and retired without warning us. I 
maintained my position until ten p. m., when, in connection with General Reno and 
General Gibbon — assigned to the rear guard — I retired my brigades. 

My command arrived at Centreville in good order at two A. M. this morning, and 
encamped in front of the Centerville forts. My loss in killed and wounded is over seven 
hundred and fifty, about one in three, in some regiments engaged a great deal severer ; in 
the Third Michigan, one hundred and forty out of two hundred and sixty ; none talien 
prisoner, except my engineer officer, who returned to the house supposed to be held by 
the troops alluded to. 



424 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-Ge'nERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

It makes me proud to dwell on the renewed efforts of my Generals of Brigade, Bikney 
and Robinson. My regiments all did well, and the remiss in camp seemed as brightest 
in the field. Besides my old tried regiments, who have been previously noted in former 
actions and maintained their prestige, I have to mark the One Hundred and First; N-ew 
York Volunteers and Tifty-seveuth Pennsylvania Volunteers, as equalling all that their 
comrades have done before; their commanders, Lieuteuant-Colonel Gesner, with the 
One Hundred and First New York Volunteers, and Major Bihney, with the Fifty-seventh 
Penusj'lvania Volunteers, have imparted to them the stamp of their own high character. 
The Sixty-third Pennsylvania and Fortieth New York Volunteers, under the brave Col- 
onel Eg.\n, suffered the most. The gallant Hayes is badly wounded. The loss of officers 
has been great ; that of Colonel Brown can hardly be replaced. Brave, skillful, a disci- 
plinarian, full of energy and a charming gentleman, his Twentieth Indiana must miss him. 
Tlie country doses in him one who promised to fill worthily high trust. The Third Mich- 
igan, ever faithful co their name, under Colonel Champlin and Major Pierce, lose one 
hundred and forty out of two hundred and sixty combatants. Colonel Champlin is again 
disabled. The staunch Fourth Maine, under Walker, true men of a rare tj-pe, drove on 
through the stream of battle irresistibly. The One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers was not wanting. They are Pennsylvania's Mountain Blen ; again have they been 
fearfully decimated. The desperate charge of these regiments sustain the past history of 
tb is division. 

The lists of killed and wounded, and reports of brigades and regiments, will be shortly 
furnished. 

K ANDOLPH's Battery of Light Twelves was worked with boldness and address. Thongh 
nurrowly watched by three long-reaching enfilading batteries of the enemy, it constantly 
silenced one of theirs in its front, and shelled and ricocheted its shot into the reinforce- 
nieuts moving from the enemy's heights down into the woods. On the 27th, with two sec- 
tions and Robinson's First Brigade, Captain Randolph had powerfully contributed to 
General Hooker's success at Bristow Station. 

Captain Graham, First United States Artillery, put at General Sigel's disposition, as 
repeatedly drove the enemy back into the woods, as the giving way of that infantry left 
the front unobstructed. This practice was beautifully correct, and proved irresistible. On 
the 31st, Captain Graham, not being required on the right, was sent to the extreme lelt, 
and rendered important service with General Reno, firing until late in the night. 

Lieutenant , a German officer of distinction, put at my disposal by General 

SiGEL, with two long-range Parrots, covered our right flank and drove off an enemy's bat- 
tery and regiments. I name these gentlemen as ornaments to their branch of the service. 

I must refer to General Hooker to render justice to the part taken by my First Brigade 
under General Robinson, and Randolph's Battery, in the affair of the 27th at Bristow 
Station. 

Again am I called on to name the efficiency of my staff. Captain Mindil, often cited 
brave and intelligent, was the only military aid present to assist me; but Dr. Panco^st 
Pivision-Surgeon-General, not only insured the promptness of his department, bat, witti 
heroism and aptitude, carried, for me, my orders. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 



Omnmaniiing IHvisioii. 
Lieutenant-Colonel C. McKeeveb, 

Chief -of -Staff, Third Army Corps. 



INDORSEMENT ON THE EOREGOING. 

HEADQUARTERS, FIRST DIVISION, THIRD CORPS,'] 
Army of the Potomac, 

Fort Lyon, September ' 



CORPS,) 

• 4, 1S62. ) 



Respectfully forwarded as the official report drawn up by the late Major-Geueral Peulif 
Kearny, and intended to have been signed by him the day of his death. 

(Signed) D. B. BIRNEY, 

Official: Brigadier-General Commanding Division. 

Lieutenant-Colonel C. McKeeveb, 

Assistant Adjutant-Oeneral, Third Army Corps. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 425 

LETTER FROM PHIL. KEARNY'S BUGLER. 
The following arlless letter, bj' Phil. Kearny's " Little Bugler," as he was universally 
styled, is too characteristic and interesting to be omitted. It speaks equally well in favor 
of the General who could inspire a lad of twelve years with such sentiments of admiration 
and devotion, and of the drummer boy who, at the age of sixteen, could indite such a 
grateful and agreeable memorial of his old commander. Phil. Kearny to him, indeed, 
was the " Legendary hero of the Bivouacs of the Army of the Potomac," and every one 
who can lay a claim to service under the "Bayard of that Army," glories in the fact, and 
clings to it as the chief honor of his military career. To follow Kearny, wa-s to tread the 
path of duty and of valor ; to honor him with unimpaired respect, to testify an apprecia- 
tion of his manliness, and to cherish his memory, as Phil. Kearny's memory is cherished 
by his ' ' braves," Is to possess a portion of those patriotic virtues which made him au ox- 
ample, a type and a guiding light. 

" Far through the tempest-horrors of the night. 
The seaman marks the distant gleam of light 
Which points the course to haven and to home, 
The guiding star with hope and safety dight." 

Yes, Keabny was a guiding star, and if it pointed out, as it often did, to death, the grave 
'which received the fallen was the honored bed of repose for the Warrior who fell in the 
path of glory, the Patriot who died for Faith and Fatherland. 

New \''ork. July 23, 1868. 
I will try and detail, ia the smallest possible compass, as far back as I can recollect, my 
experience with General Kearny. In the first place, I will begin with my enlistment. 
Ill the early jmrt of 1S61, I was drumming recruits in Chatham Square, New York city, for 
the Forty-second Regiment Volunteers (Tammany), for a couple of months, when my 
father enlisted in the Fortieth N. Y. Volunteers (Mozart) at Y'onkers. When the Forty- 
second, not treating me well, I left them, not being mustered in, and tried to join the For- 
tieth ; but its commander. Colonel Riley, would not take mo, on account of my bsing too 
small, and also too young, being only eleven years old. As soon as the Colonel said " No," 
I began to cry, and turned away from the tent ; but my father went and spokQ to him, 
when he called me back and made me take a drum and beat. All the men commenced to 
laugh, because the drum was nearly as big as myself; but nevertheless, the Colonel said I 
would do. So I was mustered in on the 26th June, 1861, and discharged on the 26th June 
186-1. Our regiment was guarding the railroad during the first battle of Bull Run. I was 
with the regiment from the Battle of Williamsburg, our first fight, until we came to Har- 
rison's Landing, when a Corporal Brown, clerk at General Ke.abny's headquarters, and 
also a member of our regiment, came to me one day, stating that General Kearny 
ordered him to get him a drummer from our regiment to serve as an orderly for one day, 
as General McCllelan was to review the army the next day. I reported myself the next 
day. I reported myself next morning early. He received me kindly, gave me his gray 
horse (Baby), one that he brought from Mexico. During the review, the General had oc- 
casion to jump a very large ditch. I jumped it with him, but a great many of the officers 
had to cross further up. I think my jumping this ditch brought me favorably to his 
notice. Accordingly, when I reported myself In the evening, after the review, so as to 
return to my regiment, he said, " No ; but go and bring my baggage over to headquarters, 
and consider yourself mj' Orderly In the future." From that day until his death, I was 
always with him. It was his habit to ride outside of the picket-guard every day at Harri- 
son Landing, only taking me with him. Many a time I would have to ride on top of the 
horse, lengthwise, so as not to knock my legs against the trees. He would go so fast 
through them, one time my hat was knocked off; the General never stopping, so by the 
time I was in the saddle again, there was no General to be seen, but I gave '' Baby" his 
own way, when in less than five minutes he brought me up to him. I have known that 
same horse to kick at him as he went in the gate. The General would then "damn " me 
for not holding the horse tight; but for all that, the General always treated me the same 
as my own father would have done, and no one mourned his untimely death more than I 
did. The first affair of anj' note in which I was with the General, was the skirmish near 
Black River, or Water. The rebel cavalry made a charge on our skirmishers, but we gave 
them one volley, when they retreated, but came very near making a prisoner of General 
D. B. BiBNEY, near the skirmishers at the time. He managed to kill one with his pistol, 

54 



426 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

and flung it in the face of another. Nothing of note took place on our march from Harri- 
son's Landing to Alexandria, e.xcept at the second battle of Bull Run, when during the 
engagement the General had occasion to write orders, which he did on his knee, while I 
steadied the paper with my fingers. When noticing that I trembled some he asked me 
" what was the matter." I replied, " nothing, only I was a little frightened." He said, " I 
must never get frightened at any thing; " any other man but him, would have acted just 
the same as I did, for the way the rebels were throwing shell and minie-ball in that parti- 
cular spot was a caution. During another part of the fight, several oflficers had congregated 
in a group— a few Generals and aides-de-camp— when one of the enemy's batteries fired a 
piece of railroad iron at us. and struck on my left, the General said " it was aimed at him," 
but did no harm except scattering dirt and gravel all around us. That place, getting a 
little too hot to hold us, we moved further on. At another time, he went outside the line 
of battle— the men all having lain down— to view the enemy, which went within an inch 
of costing him his life, for we had no sooner got outside when their sharpshooters com 
menced making a target of us. Some of the men called him in, but he took his time, until 
he saw all he could see, when he condescended to turn his horse's head, and show the 
enemy his rear. After we retreated to Centerville, early on the morning of the 31st of 
August, 1S62, he called me into his room ; he was then quartered in a small cottage. I 
found him in bed ; he gave me some official documents, and a letter directed to Mrs. 
Keakny, which I believe was the last letter he ever wrote home, and three or four golden 
dollars and some silver, to defray my expenses, and told me to post them in Alexandria. 
This was the last time I ever saw the General alive or dead. Inclosed you will find the 
pass he gave, which you will return after you have examined it. I proceeded to Alex- 
andria, but came near being cut off by the enemy, who were then trying to surround us, 
which, I think, led to the battle of Chantilly. 

Having obeyed orders I commenced to retire, the afternoon of September 1st. Under- 
Btanding from some stragglers that our troops were engaged — this was in the evening — I 
proceeded as far front as I dared, not knowing the position our meu occupied, and 
remained there, in there in the road, under as heavy a shower as it has ever been my 
misfortune to be in, until next morning, when I moved on, and inquired for the General's 
headquarters, when I was told that he was either dead or a prisoner. I found out all that 
I could about it, which was, that the previous evening General Kearny had asked Gen- 
eral * * * to reconnoiter a certain gap which was left unguarded, but General 
* * * advised him not to go ; he said " he would go any how," which he did, and that 
was the last that was ever seen of him alive. A great many seem to think that the Gen- 
eral rode a gray horse at the time; but the one he rode was a coal black. I never saw 
the General's body after it was sent into our lines, and conveyed to Alexandria in an 
ambulance. I then reported to General Birney, was with him some time, when General 
Stoneman, taking command of the Third Army Corps, I went with him, and was with 
him in the battle of Fredericksburg, when he being ordered to the command of the 
Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, General Sickles then had the command, and I was 
under him in tlie battle of Gettysburg, which was the last engagement I was in — making 
ten battles in all, and never received a scratch. A little while after General Sickles was 
convalescent (after the loss of his leg at Gettj'sburg), I was sent on to school at New York 
city to educate myself for West Point, as President Lincoln said he would send me there. 
But President Lincoln's untimely death blew my prospects to the wind. The gentleman 
who was to have taken care of my mother (my father having died from effect of disease 
contracted during the first year of the war), went away from me, and consequently I had 
to leave school and go to work. My stopping at the White House you know, so I will not 
speak of that. My ouly hope of going to West Point is the election of General Grant as 
President, which General Sickles promised me, if he became President. I also received 
the Maltese (Kearny) Cross from General Birney. Hoping that the little information 
I have been enabled to give you will assist the gentleman (the author), you spoke to me of, 

I remain, your obedient servant, 

GUSTAVE A. SCHUEMANN. 



CHAPTER XXX* 

CHANTILLY. 

ONE OP JACKSOX'S FAMOUS FLANK MARCHES OR TURNING MOVE- 
MENTS, OR DIVERSIONS, DEFEATED BY THE FIGHTING DIVISIONS 
OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 

"35iit IKanit Ijoll stdln (KroBSt." 

ScHMAiz's " Senkwurdigkeiten dcs Qra/en Wilhelm's zu Schaumbukg Lippe." J 

" War is honorable 
In those who do their native rights maintain ; 
In those whose swords an iron barrier are 
Between the lawless spoiler and the weak." 

Thomson's "Liberty." 
" A power is passing from the earth." — Wadsworth. 
" How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blessed ! " 

William Collins. 

" Who'er amidst the sons 

Of reason, valor, liberty and virtue. 
Displays distinguished merit, is a noble 

J3f nature's own creating." Thomsok. 

" A heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute." — Edwaed Gibbon. 
" Heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute." — Jdnius. 

*' Vou talk always of my person, of my dangers. Need I tell you, it is not necessary 
that I live, but it is that I do my duty, and fight for my country to save it if possible." — 
Frkdkric the Great to Marquis d'Arqens, 18th September, 1760, Guttmausdorf, day 
after his march athwart a fearful Austrian cannonade. 
" To fight, .SImilius, 
In a just cause, and for our country's glory, 
Is the best office of the best men." 

Harvabd's " Begulus." 
" Death ! thou fell tyrant, hast no fears for me, 
A hero's Fame is Immortality." 

" NON MORITUR CUGUS FAMA VIVIT." 

* After having prepared a synopsis of the August campaign of the " Army of Virginia,' 
with authorities and notes, the writer was notified by the publishers that he must 
restrict himself within a certain number of pages. This compelled the excision of all 
Pope's movements not immediately connected with Kearny, and even contracted 
Kearny within limits insufficient to do him justice. This change in the plan was con- 
trary to agreement ; but as the author considers himself absolved by such changes, errors 
and delays, from all responsibility, hi finishes the work, as far as he is permitted, simply 
that an immense amount of labor may not be lost; labor involving the collection of a 
vast amount of information, wiiose publication is due to the gentlemen and friends who 
kindly united in assisting him. 



428 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

" The officers vigorously exerted themselves to restore the broken ranks, but in the 
midst of their eflforts the right center column, led by the good and gallant Lord Howe, 
was suddenly fronted by tlie body of the enemy who had gone astray in the forest. They 
joined In bitter strife, almost hand to hand, in the swamps, or from tree to tree on the hill- 
side. * * At the iirst shock many of Howe's light infantry went down, he himself, hurry- 
ing to the front, was struck by a musket ball in the breast and instantly expired. His men, 
infuriated by the loss of their beloved leader, swarmed on through the woods and finally 
overpowered or destroj'ed the enemj'. * * * 

" That night the victors occupied the field of battle; to this their advantage was confined, 
for the disorganization of the troops had frightfully increased during the unpropitious 
march, in the hard fought skirmish, and by the loss of their best and most trusted chief. The 
vigor and spirit of Abehcbombie's army seemed to pass away with Lord Howe. Tliis gallant 
man, from the time he had landed in America, had wisely instructed his regiments for the 
peculiar service of that difficult country. No useless incumbrance of baggage was allowed ; 
he himself set the example, and encountered privation and fatigue in the same chivalrous 
spirit with which he faced the foe; graceful and kind in his manners, and considerate to 
the humblest under his charge, his officers ar.d soldiers heartily obeyed the chief because 
they loved the man. At the fatal moment when he was lost to England her glory and wel- 
fare most needed his aid. ITe lived long enough for his own honor, but not for that of his 
counti-y. " — Mnjor Wabburton's " Conquest of Canada" page 184. 

" Among the dead were two generals, one of whom was the famous warrior Phii.. 
Keabny." —Von Boecke. 

" The darkest day. 

Live till to-morrow, will have passed away." 

COWPER. 

" Now Night her course began, and over Heaven 
Inducing darkness, grateful truce, impos'd 
Her silence on the odious din of war ; 
Under her cloudy covert both retir'd, 
Victor and vanquish'd." 

Milton's " Paradise Lost," B. 6. 

" Yet, Freedom ! yet thy banner, torn, but flying, 
Streams like the thunder-storm against the wind: 
Thy trumpet voice, though broken now and dying, 
The loudest still the tempest leaves behind ; 
Thy tree has lost its blossoms, and the rind, 
Chopped by the axe, looks rough and little worth. 
But the sap lasts, — and still the seed we find 
Sown deep, even in the bosom of the Nobth ; 
So shall a better spring less bitter fruit bring forth." 

Byron's " Childe Harold." 



" I never heard the old song of Percy (Stonewall Jackson) and Douglas (Phil 
Kearny), that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet." —Sir Philip' 
Sidney. 

" This battle (Chantilly) was especially unfortunate to the North, and deprived it of the 
life of General Kearny, whose services on many fields had rendered his name distin- 
guished." — Life of Stonewall Jackson, 1866. 

" There was a fight at Chantilly, where the brave and impetuous Kearny was killed, 
and the enemy fell back." * * * _ Caeleton. 

" Fortunately for his (Hooker's) laurels. General Kearny, a splendid old veteran, who 
had seen service under the French in Algeria, came to his aid, and restored the battle 
(Williamsburg) to the Federals." — Stacke's (London, 1866) "Story of the American War." 

" General Philip Keaeny was also killed. * « * His loss is deeply deplored by the 
whole army. He was considered one of the bravest generals in the service, and the enemy 
made repeated efforts to kill, wound or capture him. His dashing and fearless bearing 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 429 

and his conspicuous figure, with but one arm, made him an easily distinguished iind cov- 
eted aim. Up to the night of his death, he was on every occasion to be found in the thick- 
est of tlie fight, and seemed to lead a charmed life. The Union Army has not lost an 
officer who will be as much regretted as General Kearny." — Leaves from Vie Diary of 
(Dr. Ellis) an Army Surgeon. 

" From this time (July 20th, ISGl, at Harrison's Landing) I had no personal intercourse 
with General Kearny until the fatal day of Chantilly. While the army was yet at Ccn- 
treville, I entered his room to obtain permission to visit the wounded at Fairfax Station. 
This, without a moment's hesitation, he granted, and urged me to rejnain with him a few 
munites ; during the coui'se of our conversation, he spoke of the causes which led to tho 
disastrous defeat of tlie previous Saturday, and then of the spirit which animated tho 
South. For the first time in our intercourse he spoke on the subject of religion. He 
regretted that it had been so little his study, but said his knowledge of the world and 
experience taught him that the only hope of the future was in the Gospel of our Lord, and 
that everything else would signally fail in producing peace on earth and good-will among 
men. He said the scenes in which we were living more deeply impressed him with tho 
value of the teachings of the Bible. 

" We iiarted, and in the sanguinary struggle of the evening General Kearny fell, and 
with him a thousand hopes for the country and the army. He was a man of far more 
talent than many have been willing to concede to him. While ardent and impulsive, he 
was capable of the most wily caution ; while often stern and withering in rebuke, he was 
generous and forgiving; though ambitious he was above all low, mean jealousies. No 
officer in the army was more laborious and sleepless ; his keen eye was everywhere, and 
with an energj' that never faltered, he corrected every abuse, and fully investigated every- 
thing that pertained to the discipline and well-being of his division. If he had lived, his 
briWiant and chivalrous qualities would have won for him a very high place in the admira- 
tion and gratitude of his country." — Marks' " Peninsula Campaign." 

" It having been ascertained that the enemy were attempting to turn our right, and cut 
off our communications with Washington by moving a large force on the Little River or 
Aldie turnpike toward Fairfax Court House, our army was stretched along the Warron- 
ton and Alexandria pike, from Centreville to beyond the Court House. At noon we 
moved off down the pike, marching on the fields along the sides of the road, which was 
filled with continuous strings of wagons, moving both ways. A little before sunset, just as 
our division had passed in front of Chantillj', an attack was made by the enemy on the 
troops in our rear, and we were put in position in a large open field in reserve. The battle 
raged furiously for some time, the shot and shell falling amongst us, but doing little dam- 
age to our division. In the midst of it a terrific thunder storm occurred, and it appeared 
as ij' heaven and earth \vere contending for the mastery. But the darkness of night termi- 
nated the conflict, the enemj' was driven entirely back from our front, but the gallant 
Generals Kearny and Stevens fell.— Woodward's " Our Campaigns," pp. 189, 190. 

" The army mourned the national loss of Major-General Kearny, who was killed at 
Chantilly, and his memory will be cherished as long as exalted patriotism, inspiring 
courage, and justice toward men are revered by mankind. Qualified to be the head of the 
army, he accepted the command of a brigade. Leaving the comforts which his largo 
wealth afforded, he welcomed the most trying hardships of the service. In another zone, 
the enemies of his country had taken his arm ; but his zeal triumphed over the disability, 
and he fought until he had sacrificed his life. Placing the reins between his teeth and 
grasping in his single hand the two-edged sword, he led his men in the charge that was 
never checked. Humane to those who were his inferiors, the orderlies were directed to 
bring water in canteens to the soldiers when the exigencies of the hour required that all 
should remain in the ranks at the front. Impetuous in thought and action as the flash of 
his fiery eye, he censured with the same vehemence the misconduct of the private or the 
general of the highest rank in the Union forces. Beloved by his division, the red badge 
which he instituted was always worn by the officers and men with the same proud feeling 
with which the heroic commander displayed the Legion of Honor, which never enrolled a 
nobler chevalier. Bravely performing tjis public tasks, the death of this puro patriot and 
consummate soldier was a fitting conclusion of his eventful life."—" Three Years in the 
Army of the Potomac," by Captain Henry N. Blake, pp. 140-1. 



430 BTOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAR^T. 

" The liay passed on with no signs of the enemy, and about 4 p. m. our brigade was 
ordered off as a protection to Fairfax Station, a new disposition of the troops being now 
required. Shortly after we had marched througli Fairfax Court House we were met by a 
most drenching storm. The rain laughed lo scorn our rubber cloaks, flllcd our top-boots to the 
brim, trickled in rivulets beiicec.n our shoulders, xvhile the wind fairly swayed our horses before 
its fury. Tlie road speedily became a lake, and our brigade became a sorry figure indeed, as, 
with musliets reversed, they waded through tlie mud, staggering against the blinding 
storm. In the midst of this fury of the elements, heavily and continually the sound of can- 
nonading upon our right broke upon our ears, seeming almost a horrid mocliery, and once 
more Treason and Loyalty fought to the death at Chantilly. In this battle Kearxv and 
Steven.s, trco of our very best generals, met their fate. Many a brave I'ellow was killed or 
wounded, but the victory was ours, and the enemy's attack ivas repulsed ivith great slaughter." 
— " The Bivouac and the Battlc-Field, or Campaign Sketches in Virginia and Maryland." 
By Geo. F. Noyes, Captain U. S. "Volunteers, page 145. 

" At 5:50 firing coinmenced by General Reno on the enemy, between the Little river and 
Warrenton turnpikes. The enemy were within half a mileofthe latterwhen they attacked 
bim. A portion of General Eeno's troops gave way, but General Birney's Brigade of 
General Kearny's Division gallantly supported them. General Kearny rode forward 
alone to reconnoitre, in his usual gallant, not to say reckless, manner, and came upon a 
rebel regiment. In attempting to escape, he was killed. The countrj' has to mourn one 
of her most gallant defenders. At the close of the seige of Yorktown, he relieved General 
Hamilton in command of the Division, and led it in the various battles on the Peninsula, 
commencing with Williamsburg. His name is Identified with its glory." — Extract from 
General Heintzelman's official report of the Battle of Bull Eun, dated Oct. 21st, 1S62. 

" During that engagement (Chantilly) we lost two of our best, and one of our most dis- 
tinguished officers, Major-General Kearny and Brigadier-General Stevens. * * * * 
Words cannot express my sense of the zeal, the gallantry and the sympathy of that most 
earnest and accomi^lished soldier, Major-General Kearny. In him the country has suf- 
fered a loss which it will be difficult, if not impossible, to repair. He died as he could have 
wished to die, and as became his heroic character." — Report of Major-General Pope. 



The second battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, which termi- 
nated on the evening of 30th August, was the closing scene of 
a series of reverses, redeemed, however, by the unflagging 
energy and desj)erate courage of the majority of the Union 
troops engaged in them. When these combats are dispassion- 
ately studied out and commented on, justice will concede that, 
although apparently abandoned and sacrificed, the Army of 
Virginia and its reinforcements in line of battle from the Army 
of the Potomac were fought to pieces, not Avasted by diseases, 
disorganized by inaction or humiliated by needless withdraw- 
als from fields of victory abandoned to defeated antagonists. 
While thus fought to pieces, it inflicted such terrific losses upon 
the rebels that the future operations of Lee were so crippled, 
and his fighting aggressive so depleted,* and followed up by an 

* Compare Chapter XVI, pages 277—286, Vol. I, Histoire de la Guerre Civile Americaine, 
1860-1865, par Mm. L. Cortambert et P. de Tranaltos, Paris, Amyot Editeur, S Rue de 
la Paix, 18G7; also pages 128-'9, "Die innern Kampfe der Nordajnerikantschen Union, von 
HEi>fRicH Blankenburo. Leipzig, F. A. Brockhads, 1869, etc., etc. 

The reader would be astonished if he knew the number of foreign and native works on 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 431 

able general, the Army of Northern Virginia would have dis- 
appeared in the first half of the month of September, 1862, 
between the Catoctin and the Potomac, as if the mountains had 
toppled over and buried it, or the earth had gaped and swal- 
lowed it up. 

Cooke, in his " Life of Stonewall Jackson," draws a dole- 
ful picture of the condition of the rebel forces and of the dismal 
landscape which environed them. The same state of affairs 
existed on our side, as borne witness to by a friend, an officer 
of Hooker's Division. The rebels, however, had enjoyed some 
full meals out of our plundered stores at Manassas, a piece of 
good fortune denied to our poor fellows. 

"The scene at this moment was interesting. The men of the 
Stonewall Brigade and their comrades were lying on the side 
of the road hungry and exhausted. They had not seen their 
wagons since they had left the Rappahannock, and the rations 
secured at Manassas were long since exhausted. Green corn 
and unripe apples had for some days been their sustenance, and 
now they were in a country that did not afibrd even these. 
The hungry men saw on every side bleak fields and forests, 
with scarce a roof visible in the entire landscape ; and thus 
famished and worn out they were lying down awaiting the order 
to advance and attack." Hensinger, referring to the desolation 
which brooded over this district, obseiwes, " a solemn or myste- 
rious silence reigned over this wide, desolate flat, the plains of 
Manassas." 

The attempt to cut our communication, and intei'cept our 
retreat upon the defenses of Washington was resumed by Lee 
on the 1st of September ; but the deluge of rain, unusually cold 
for the season, presented obstacles almost as difficult to over- 
come as the resistance of men. All day long Lee's heavy 
columns moved along the Little River pike toward Fairfax. 
The enemy's objects developed themselves so clearly on the 

this war which have been examined in connection with this biography. Only a few of 
them have been cited, because very often they have merely served to confirm or justify 
an opinion. Not that the writer considers that an honest opinion needs justification, but 
the world is so constituted that it often requires the testimony of many who are actual 
humbug^ with high titles to establish a fact, when the judgment of a single expert, or hard 
student and unprejudiced man, is worth the whole of their pedantic dicta following in one 
track like a flock of sheep led by a cosset with a bell. 



432 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, 



afternoon of this day, September 1st, and it was so evident that 
they intended to try and tnrn Pope's right, by Fairfax Court 
House, that the Army of Virginia was disposed so as to receive 
or give battle, between the Little River j^ike and the road from 
Centreville to Fairfax Court House. Early in the afternoon. 
Hooker was directed to assemble all the troops in his vicinity 
and push forward to Gei'mantown, about a mile and a half west 
of the Court House. His own division constituted the right of 
our line, which was formed upon a range of heights (Ox Hill), 
between the Warrenton and Little River pike. This line nearly 
bisected the angle formed by their junction, McDowell was 
on his left ; next Franklin, somewhat in the rear ; next Reno, 
with Kearny in his rear, in reserve ; next Porter, behind 
whom Pope posted himself; Sumner held the extreme left ot 
the Union line, near the house of J. Milan (or Millen), about 
three miles due west of Germantown, 




Scah of Miles. 



Plan of the Battle-field of Chantilly, ob of Ox Hill, or 
Germantown, 1st September, 1862. 

Such were the dispositions made by Pope for a collision 
which deserves a far more prominent place among the conflicts 
of the war than it has ever yet received. The Battle of Chan- 
TiLLY — or, as it is more appropriately but less eui:)houionsiy 
named by the rebels, Ox Hill, from the elevation or range on 
which it was fought, or Germantown, near which the hardest 
fighting occurred (Chantilly is more than three miles from the 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENY. 433 

Btage of action, to the northeast and in rear of the rebel forees) 
■ — belongs to the same class of fights as Oriskany (1777) at the 
North, and King's Mountain (1780) at the South, during our 
first great revolutionary struggle ; or the " Cannonade of 
Valmy," which last has been placed by Creasy among liis 
" Twelve Decisive Battles of the World." Any one who will 
turn to a good map of the region will perceive that the locality 
in which the troops collided was a very important one strategi- 
cally considered. The battles of Gainesville and Grovetou,-or 
Second Bull Run, had been fought on the line of the Warrcn- 
ton turnpike, which passing through Centreville west by north, 
is intersected at Fairfax Court House by the Little River pike, 
from Aldie, running northwest and southeast. The Union line 
of retreat lay along the Little River pike, which, about a mile 
and a half beyond Annandale, bifurcates — the left-hand branch, 
the Columbia turnpike, leading across the Long bridge into 
Washington — the right-hand road into Alexandria, Conse- 
quently, if Jackson could get possession of the turnpike at 
Fairfax Court House, and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad 
near Burke's Station, only three miles to the south. Pope was 
entirely cut off; Washington was uncovered; and the rebel 
problem, as to advantage of position, solved. The battle which 
ensued to prevent this turning of our right — or rather, cutting 
our line of retreat and supply — was very short, very sharp and 
very decisive. The intentions of the rebels were completely 
frustrated, their attack repulsed, and the Union troops retained 
possession of the field. Chantilly was an undoubted victory, 
and from it, as a buckler, the rebel attack glanced ofi^ Ko 
other blow was delivered in this direction. The result proves 
that, as Halleck mildly expressed it, "had the Army of the 
Potomac arrived a few days earlier, the rebel army could have 
been easily defeated and perhaps destroyed." And in anothor 
place, " some of the corps moved with becoming activity — 
[he might in justice have indicated Kearny''s, Hooker's and 
Reno's commands] — but the delays of others were neither 
credi'table nor excusable." 

Tlte theatre and time of action were as gloomy as the North- 
ern peV)j:)Ie deemed our fortunes in front of the National Capital, 
55 



434 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

to become still more gloomy through the fall of two of our 
most eminently patriotic generals. Stonewall Jackson was in 
cammand of the rebels and pressed the attack, supported by the 
fire of his artillery on an eminence to the left and north of the 
Little River pike. His troops, as usual with the rebels, Avere 
disposed in the Avoods to the right and east of it; Jackson's 
own division was on the left of his line; Ewell's, under Law- 
TOif, " who ably sustained its reputation," in the centre, and 
Hill's on the right. The struggle which ensued, ending as it 
did, almost justified Hooker in saying that he never met Jack- 
son witliout whipping him; and proves that it required to beat 
Jackson, not the kind of men who encountered him at Chan- 
cellors-ville on our right, but such as met him. and drove him 
back at Chantilly. 

Just before sunset a terrific thunder stoj'm, similar to one which 
actually, for a time, palsied the fight at Oi-iskany, in IVVT, and 
Solferino, in 1859 — a storm cold and pitiless as the rebels them- 
selves — burst over the field; and amid the convulsions of the 
elemental v>\arfare and the drenching rain, the blaze of battle 
rivaled the fierce lightning. It was a fearful hour. A distin- 
guished stafl" ofiicer, little given to emotional feeling, describes 
it as the Avorst he encountered in his teiin of service, Avhich 
lasted throughout the Avar and enabled him to participate in the 
grandest triumphs as Avell as the greatest reverses of the Army 
of the Potomac. The day became suddenly almost converted 
into night, and, amid the darkness and tropical down-pour of 
water, the heads of the rebel and Union columns came in con- 
tact at Ox Hill, near Chantilly. A number of the hardest fight- 
ing men of the two armies — Reno, Stevens, Hooker and 
Kearny; Jackson, Early and Hill — encountered amid this 
chunn of battle and of nature. Eavell had lost a leg through 
a wound received in the previous battle and was not present, 
although his division took part under Laaa'ton, a very able and 
valiant ofiicer. The rain Avasso furious that ammunition could 
scarcely be kept serviceable, and the thunder so loud that the, 
roar of the artillery Avas utterly unheard at Centreville, three 
miles distant. The action began about five p, m., near Chantilly. 
At first the rebels gave way before the stern aggressive of 



/ 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 435 

Ren-o, then, re-enforced, drove back Stevens' division, and Ste- 
vens, "bearing aloft the colors of one of his regiments, cheer- 
ing on his men, fell fatally wounded hj a minie-ball through 
his head." Confused, and out of ammunition, the dying general 
saw his troops compelled to give wny. " To repair this break," 
says an elegant writer but prejudiced historian, for once kin- 
dled into due appreciation of this " Type Volunteer General," 
" Kearny, with the promptitude that marked him, sent forward 
Birney's brigade, of his own division ; and presently, all aglow 
with zeal, brought up a battery which he placed in position. But 
there still remained a gap on Birney's riglit, caused by the 
retirement of Stevens' division. This Birney pointed out to 
Kearny, and th^at gallant soldier, dashing forward to reconnoi- 
tre the ground, unwittingly rode into the enemy's lines and was 
killed.* In his death, the army lost the living ideal of a soldier 
— a 2)reux chevalier, in whom there Avere mixed the qualities of 
chivalry and gallantry as strong as ever beat beneath the mailed, 
coat of an old knight. Like Desaix, whom Napoleon charac- 
terized as ' the man most Avoi'thy to be his lieutenant,' Kearny 
died 02)posing a heroic breast /to disaster."! 

*"On Monday evening following the disastrous battle of Bull Run, a severe engagement 
with the enemy took place at Chantilly, two miles north of Fairfax Court House, between 
a portion of our army and Jackson's forces. Our loss was very heavy, including General 
[Stevens, who was shot in the head while he was leading his brigade into action, bearin.g 
the colors, the color-sergeant having been previously shot. His son, also, who was acting 
on his staff, was wounded. General Philip Kearny was also killed the same evening. 
He was shot through the back while wheeling his horse around to cheer on his men. His 
loss is deeply deplored by the whole army. He was considered one of the bravest generals 
in the service, and the enemy made repeated efforts to kill, wound or capture him. His 
dashing and fearless bearing and his conspicuous figure, with but one arm, made him an 
easily-distinguished and coveted aim. Up to the night of his death he was on every occa- 
sion to be found in the thickest of the fight, and seemed to lead a charmed life. The Union 
Army has not lost an oflicer^who will be as much regretted as General Kearny. Tho 
operations of the contending armies on the south side of the Potomac completely absorb 
the attention and interest of every body — citizens and soldiers. The excitement .which 
would naturally be awakened by the knowledge of the fact that bloody battles were being 
fought within cannon sound of the national capital was considerably increased, because no 
full and authentic information respecting the results, or losses, had been received from the 
scene of action."—" Leaves from the Diary of an Army Surgeon," p. 209. 

t " Among the reports, true or false, which were repeated to me during this sad night (1st 
September, 1862), there was one whose mournful impression has never been effaced. 
'Kearny had been killed the previous evening.' It was not only a source of mourning 
for his friends, it was a great loss for the army and the countrj'. 

" Philip Kearny belonged to a family of high consideration, which had already fur- 
nished a general to the United States. No one possessed in a higher degree the tastes and 
the qualities of a professional soldier. To these natural gifts and military education, * * he 
added, besides, an experience which very few officers in our army possessed. For example, 



436 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KKAENY. 

It would seem as if the demon of civil war had demanded 
the most precious jewels of the nation to pay for the security 



despatched on a mission to France to study, there, particularly cavalry organization, 
instead of being content with the information afforded by the War Department and exam 
Ination of the regiments in garrison at Paris, he had applied himself resolutely, manfully to 
all the exercises of the School at Saumur, where he remained two years. He afterwards 
visited Algeria, where he obtained permission to accompany the Buke of Orleans as hon- 
orary Aide-de-Camp in the campaign of the ' Iron Gates.' 

"There he obtained the only distinction within his reach, the Cross of the Legion of 
Honor. After this it was optional with him to enter the French service by accepting a 
command in the Foreign Legion, which was offered to him ; but he preferred to return to 
America, where the Mexican War soon furnished him an opportunity of distinguishing 
himself. After having signalized himself in many engagements, he lost an arm and won 
tlie rank of (Brevf.t) Major in the attack on Mexico. 

" In the Peninsula he commanded a division which shone amongall the rest, by its bear- 
ing, its discipline, its dash in the attack, and its tenacity in the defense. Keakny's spirit 
permeated it even to the end, after it had lost the commander, whose memory always sur- 
vived as a Hvlng principle in its ranks. 

" Kearny was created Major-General at Harrison's Landing. This promotion, merited 
rather twice than once, lost much of lis value in his eyes by being included in one baking, 
without discernment, on the occurrence of the -ith July, the anniversary of the National 
Independence. All the Brigadier-Generals who, during the campaign, had commanded a 
division, whetherwell or ill, were promoted, even as he was, and all tlie Colonels, who acci- 
dently happened to have a brigade, received, without distinction, the Single Star, denoting 
Brigadier-General. Deplorable system, which contributed not a little to prolong the period 
of our reverses. Kearny played an active and brilliant part in the series of combats 
which Pope had to sustain. At Manassas he fell so vigorously upon the enemy's left that 
he threw it across the railroad which it covered This partial success should have been 
made the stepping-stone to victory. Indeed, Portkr should have attacked the left of the 
Confederates, coincident with the attack of Kearny. Porter did not move up into line, 
and left the enemy full liberty to despatch reinforcements to the wing assailed. Thus 
overwhelmed, Kearny was forced to abandon the ground which he had won, and Fortune 
turned against us. 

" On the 1st September, Lee, following up our retreating forces, collided with our right 
neai OuintUly. General Stevens having been killed, bis Division, through want of am- 
munition, fell back in disorder. Kearny hastened to send forward Birney's Brigade to 
maintain our line, and supported it with a battery of artillerj', which he posted himself. 
A breach, notwithstanding, still remained unfilled. To reconnoitre the extent of this 
gap, he dashed forward alone in this direction, taking with him neither his staff-oflScers 
nor his orderlies, so as not to attract attention. These awaited his return in vain ; he 
never came back. Carried away by his ardor, he had penetrated, without perceiving it, 
within the line of the enemy's skirmishers, concealed in the skirts of a wood. When he 
was within a few paces of them, the nearest hailed him to surrender. For sole reply, he 
wheeled his horse, and, crouching upon the neck of the animal, set off at a gallop. The 
balls flew faster than he did. One of them struck him below the haunch and traversed his 
body. He fell, and died in a few minutes. 

" The Confederate Generals, whose comrade and associate he had been before he became 
one of their most fearful (or redoubtable) adversaries, took this occasion to testify their 
high esteem for him. By order of General Lee, Kearny's corpse, his horse, his equip- 
ments and his arms were restored to us. * * * 

" Ardent head (head full of zealous enthusiasm) and noble heart, he tlius inspired the 
enemies with sympathy and admiration whom he fought hand to hand. His fatal death 
made me recall the last words which he had addressed to me in my tent, whitlier he came 
from time to time to chat of France, of Paris, of friends common to both in New York, 
and of the thousand things which were always interesting to him, the man of the world 
ajnid the duties of the man at arms. When I drew his attention to the fact that he was 
now launched upon a voyage which would bear him to any height of success,— 



r 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 437 

of the Nation's capital — patriots pure and iinselfish in their 
devotion. Pre-eminently such was Kearny. If any man, like 
CuRTius,* would have spurred his horse into the gaping chasm 
to save the republic, he would have done it. The sacrifice, if 
the crisis demanded such a precious oftering, was accepted. 
The career of the rebel was stayed. Instead of folloAving up 
his success, lie turned aside from the reality to grasp at the 
phantom of evoking an armed insurrection in the North, of 
firing the hearts of rebels in Maryland and liberating her ima- 
ginary oppressed, and of conquering the recognition of an 
Oligarchy founded on Slavery, under the Banner of Democracy, 
among the " heaven-kissing mountains " of the free North. 
Then was realized the prediction of Kearny, that the North 
deceived itself if it hoped to beat back the determination of the 
South without exhibiting an energy and determination — a 
physical force backed by a moral force — as intensely earnest 



" ' Bah ! ' said he, ' it is wrong to exaggerate. Without doubt, I believe I could command 
an army-corps, but a higher responsibility would probably surpass my ability, and I do not 
think that I ever aimed at a command-in-chief— such a orie shines in the second rank ; you 
understand. Moreover, I have not the ambition which my friends may conceive for me. 
Let the war finish one way or another, I shall return at once and resume my home-life In 
Paris, satisfied with having done my duty, and with having nothing to reproach myself 
for.' 

"Such Is man! He had not taken into his calculations the death which awaited him 
within twenty days. 

" The mourning for him was public (not private), especially at New York, where they 
accorded him magnificent obsequies. But nowhere was his loss ffelt so profomidly .-is in 
the Army of the Potomac, of wifiich he had been one of the first (greatest) glories, and iu 
which the thousand narratives of the bivouac finished by investing his memor.v with the 
proportions of a legendary hero." 

[De Trobkiand is very much mistaken as to General Keakny's ambition. He wa.s 
exceedingly ambitious, and in one of his own letters, so far from underrating his powers 
to command the largest body of troops, he speaks of being " able to handle the ' Army of 
the Potomac ' with as much facility as his own diviision."] — " Qiutirc Ans dc Cmnpagna a 
Armee da P^omac' " By Major-General Regis de Trobriand, i, 290, 293. 

* " CuRTius Marcus, a Roman hero who lived about the middle of the fourth century 
B. C, and who is said to have sacrificed himself for the good of his country. The legend 
which relates this event is in substance as follows : An earthquake once happened at 
Rome, a large portion of the area of the forum sank down, and a vast chiism appesired 
there. All attempts to fill it up were vain and the city was smitten with consternation, 
especially as the haruspices had declared that it could only be filled by casting into it that 
on which the greatness of Rome depended. While everj' one was hesitating and doubting 
as to the meaning of the haruspicial declaration, the heroic Marcus presented himself, 
and proclaiming that Home contained nothino more indi^eriUibU to her greatness than a 
valiant citizen fully accoutred foi- bnl/le,he offered himself as a victim, and, having ar- 
rayed himself in complete armor and mounted his war-horse, he galloped into the abyss. 
Then the earth closed, the chasm vanished, and the forum resumed its wonted aspect."— 
Appleion's " jXeio American Cyclopadla," Part XVI., p. 138. 



438 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

as that of the Slavocracy, with their free Spartans to fight and 
their slave Helots to dig and delve and feed their phalanxes in 
the field. The very month in which Kearny died witnessed 
the inaugnration of those measures which finally ended the 
Slaveholders' Rebellion and whetted the sword of Justice, which 
fell heavily even while it seemed to spare, upon those most 
guilty in the eyes of men. 

Then, too, was realized that marvelous prediction of Schalk, 
not only described, but actually mapped out in the previous 
winter and printed before McClellan started on that exjDedi- 
tion whose failure the German officer prophesied. He not only 
marked out the marches and retreats and battle-fields of the 
Army of the Potomac, but placed his red blocks and green 
blocks, representing the opposing Unionists and Rebels, in the 
identical locality where the first decisive battle (decisive in any 
respect worthy to entitle it to the term) of the war at the East 
— Antietam — overthrew the proud projects of the Slavocrats, 
and jiut the seal to the Proclamation of Emancipation : Avliere 
the first decided repulse of the latter occurred — a drawn 
battle as regarded the Union commander, but a victory for his 
troops. 

Strange to say, Kearny' lost his life, so precious to his coun- 
try, almost upon the very spot where he witnessed a similar but 
more youthful and inexperienced hero lay down his life on the 
9th of the preceding March. This was during Kearny's 
carefully and intentionally ignored swoop upon Manassas, 
Avhen, had he been let loose, he would have clutched the Rebel 
rear, and very likely have caught or measured swords with the 
greatest of the Rebel generals at the East, Joe Johnston. 
Thus his circle of intrepid action commenced and ended amid 
the same scenes. Its initiative was full of the promise of glory 
and success ; the conclusion, of gloom and sorrow. Even a 
stranger to Kearny (Lossing, in his " Civil War in Ame -^ca,'" 
ii, 358 and 454 [2],) has refen-ed to this curious reflux of the 
careers, of the Army of the Potomac and of Kearny to the 
vicinity of Manassas. 

With the disappearance of Kearny from the scene forever, 
wrapt from us in the fiery gloom of tempest and of battle, his 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. ^9 

mantle fell on a disciple, who, on this field as on other fields, 
demonstrated that he had grown into the lustre of generalship 
in the exceeding brightness of Kearny's example. This was 
Pennsylvania's patriotic son, David Bell Bieney, who, like tlie 
friend he revered, the commander he imitated, gave np his life 
for his country two years and seventeen days later — October IS, 
1864 — exclaiming, with his last breath, "Boys, keep your eyes 
on that flag ! " Noble Birney ! true in life and death to Keaeis'y'. 

The command of Kearny's division devolved on General 
BiRNEY, who promptly, Kearny fashion, ordered a bay-oiiet- 
charge* (according to the popular preference for the word — in 
reality, a forward rush) by his own brigade, consisting of the 
First, Thirty-eighth and Fortieth Regiments of Volunteers from 
Kearny's native State, New York. This order was executed 
with great gallantry by Colonel, now Major-General, Ton Egais-, 
likewise of New York, and the Rebel advance driven and re- 
pulsed so that BiRNEY retained possession of the field of battle 
during the night, burying our dead and removing our wounded. 
This, according to the military code of the Romans — in the art 
of war, the masters of the world and of all times — constituted 
Kearny's Division the victors at Chantilly. " It was ever- a 
glorious sign of victory," says the famous critic, von Kaitsler, 
in his " Treffen bei Mantinea^'' 1543, " when the conqueror not 
only bore off and buried his own dead, but granted to the ene- 
my permission to recover their dead also, under a suspension of 
arms accorded for that very purpose." 

And if the spirit of its former leader (Kearny) conld have 
looked upon that ensanguined stage, it must have rejijiced in 
the proud consciousness that his influence had survived him, 
and rendered the men he had disciplined triumphant; that, like 
the Douglas — the blood of whose breed of men flowed in the 
veins of Kearny — like Douglas dead, his name had won the 
field ; or better, perhaps, like Henry the Upright, slain in the 
Battle of Wahlstadt, 1241, dying, he had j^reserved the land, of 
civilization from the barbaric wave of slavery. 

* JONINI, In his large experience of war, notices one remarkable fact often asserted by 
other military writers, that " he had seen positions carried by troops with EbonJdered 
arms, but that in the line of battle he never saw a conflict with the bayonet."— LrTTHCi.'s 
" Living Age," 1301, 8th May 1S69, p. 380 (2). 



MO BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARKT. 

BIKNEY'S REPORT OF CHANTILLY. 

HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, THIRD CORPS,! 
Fort Lyon, Va., Sept. 4th, 1862. j 

Cotonet:— 

I have the honor to rejoort the part taken by this division in the battle at Chantilly 
between Cejitreville and Fairfax Court House, on Monday, September 1st. The division 
reached Cha.ntillyat about live o'clock, p. m.. under orders from General Heintzklman to 
support General Reno, and found him actually engaged with the enemy. Under orders 
from General Kearny I reported my brigade to General Reno, and by him was ordered 
to the front. On reaching that point, I found the division of General Stevens retiring in 
some disorder before the enemy; the officers in command of regiments stating that their 
ammunition had been exhausted. I immediately ordered forward the Fourth Maine 
Volunteers, which gradually advanced and was soon in active conflict, and successfully 
took forward the One Hundred and Forty-first New York, Third Maine, Fortieth New 
York, and First New York Regiments. (See Kearny's letters following Report in regard 
to his Maine and New York Troops.) These held the enemy, and sustained unflinch- 
ingly the most murderous Are. 

At this jimcture. General Keabny reached the hill with Randolph's Battery, and, 
placing it in position, aided my brigade by a well-directed fire. I then pointed out to the 
General a gap on my right, caused by the retreat of Stevens' Division, and asked for 
Berby'.s Brigade to fill it. He rode forward to examine the ground, and, dashing past our 
lines into those of the enemy, fell a victim to his gallant daring 

I sent forward the Thirty-eighth New York and Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania to complete 
our victory. They advanced gallantly, and when night closed, my brigade was in full 
possAision of the battie-field on which it was engaged. 

(Jeneral Keakny not returning, and supposing that he had been taken prisoner, I 
assumed command of the Division ; and ordering forward Robinson's and Beeby's Bri- 
gades, relieved my tired regiments and held the battle-ground until three o'clock a. m., at 
which time the Division followed the Corps of General Reno to Fairfax Court House. 

During the night we removed our wounded. Our loss has been heavy. 

I was atbly suijported by the commanding officers of my regiments, all of whom sus- 
tained the high cliarattter accorded by our late, lamented commander, in his report of 
Friday's engagement. Lieutenants Lee and Phillips, of my staff, deserve especial men- 
tion for their untiring efforts in carrying my orders to all parts of the field. I have men- 
tioned these in previous i-eports for gallantry. Robinson's Brigade had been placed on the 
left of my Brigade, by General Keabny-, to support Gra,ham's Battery. It was not. 
unfortAinately, called upon to engage the enemy, but assisted greatly, with Bebby's Bri- 
gade, during the night, in holding the field in face of a vastlj' superior force of the 
enemy. I was much indebted to General Robinson and to Colonel Poe, commanding 
Berry's Brigade, for their prompt assistance and the gallant bearing of their tired com- 
mands. 

I am, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant. 

D. B. BIRNEY. 
Brigadier-Qeneral Commanding Division. 
Lieuteoant-Cblonel McKeeveB, 

Assistant Adjutant- General, Third Army Corps. 



LETTER OF KEARNY IN REGARD TO HIS NEW YORK REGIMENTS.* 

HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, ■) 

Heintzelman's Corps, >- 

Camp Berby, Babhamsville, 3fay lOtJi, 1862.J 

To Ms jBxcelteaeij Governor Morgan: 

Sir — It is with great satisfaction that I have the honor of bringing to your notice tha 

disting*tislhed conduct of OfHcers and Regiments of the State of New York comprised io 

* This note and the following should have followed Kearny's Report of 'Williamsburg, 
butthey are too important and characteristic to be omitted. 



i 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 441 

my Division, and as particularly illustrated in tlie late severe, but victorious engagement 
of tlie filth instant in front of Williamsburg. These were the Thirty-seventh, Colonel 
Hayman ; the Thirty-eight, Colonel J. H. Hobakt Ward ; and Fortieth, Colonel Riley. 
Jfe.iv Yo7-k will ever hold her place as Empire St.\te as long as she has such sons to represent 
her! 

If, your Excellency, I do not particularize individual ofHcers, it is that I could not, where 
all was zeal, distinguish one without injustice to the other. The Colonels are of the same 
opinion as myself. Colonels of two of them, stop before the diflBculty of a selection; 
another, Colonel Hayman, includes his entire list. 

The services of these regiments were most necessary. Each of the three bore the fuU 
brunt of the battle. The Thirty-seventh, Colonel Hayman, constituted our e.Ktreme left, 
par^ of General Berry's brigade. The Thirty-eighth and Fortieth Regiments served on 
the right flank. During the action the Thirty-eighth, Colonel Ward, and a vying of the 
Fortietli regiment, were marshaled for the desperate work of piercing the enemy's left 
centro and currying the rifle-pits in the nearly impassable abattis; a desperate under- 
taking. But I knew their reputation, and I was sure of their success. Colonel Hobart 
Ward lost nine officers out of the nineteen that went into action. Two of them were 
l^risoners and were rescued. 

Your E.Ycellency, I particularly name to you these Colonels as most meritorious and 
gallant officers, and trust that their .State will ever be mindful of them as her proud repre- 
sentatives. 

Your E.xcellency, in making you this, my first official communication, I am happy to 
embrace the occasion to assure you how sensible I have ever been of your having recom- 
mended me, originally, as one of the Generals within your nomination. 

I enclose the list of killed and wounded of these three New York regiments. 

Host respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

P. KEARISTY, 
Brig.-Oen. Commanding Third Division, Heintzelman's Cbrps, 
(Reb. Rec, V, Doc, page 18 [2].) 



J 



LETTER OF KEARNY IN REGARD TO HIS MAINE TROOPS. 

HEADQUARTER.S, THIRD DIVISION, 

Heintzelman's Corps, 

Camp Bebry, Barhamsville, Va., May 10th, 18G2.. 

To hii Excellency, Israel Washburn, Jr., Governor of Maine: 

Sir — As Commanding General of this Division, of which two of the generals com- 
manding brigades (General Jameson and General Berry), as well as two regiments, the 
Third Maine, Colonel Staples, and the Fourth, Colonel Walker, forta a part, I take this 
opportunity of calling to your notice their meritorious conduct in the late fight, and to. 
display the fact that, although these regiments were not sufferers in the late engagement 
at Williamsburg — having been detached by General Heintzelman to guard the left 
flank— by their steady and imposing attitude they contributed to the success of those 
more immediately engaged. And I assure you, sir, that with such material, commanded 
by such sterling officers, nothing but success can crown our efforts when the occasion 
requires. I have the honor to enclose the report of General D. B. Birney, who com- 
mande<l the noble brigade of which these two regiments form a part. General Birney 
commands two New York and two Maine regiments. 

It is peculiarly appropriate, after having rendered justice to the Regiments and Colonels, 
to bring Generals Jameson and Berry to the especial attention of yourself and citizens 
at home, who look to them for noble deeds to illustrate their annals, and I am proud to 
state that they have amply filled the full meed of anticipated distinction. 

General Berry, charged with the left wing of our line of battle, evinced a courage that 
might have been expected of him (when, as Colonel of the Fourth regiment of Maine 
Volunteers, be nearly saved the day at Bull Run), and also a genius for war and a perti- 
nacity in the fight, that proved him fit for high command — for he was most severely 
assailed on the left, and had most difficult rifle-pits and abattis to face and carry. 

General Jameson, who commands the First Brigade (One Hundred and Second, Sixty- 
third and Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Eighty-seventh New York), form- 

56 



4:42 BIOGEAPHT OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

ing the rear of the column, on the march from camp on the fifth instant, used vigor In 
bringing up his men under every difficulty, and was with me, under severe fire, where he 
arrived and gave guarantee of a resolution that promised success in case, daylight remain- 
ing to us, he had been advanced to the attack of Fort Magruder and those works which 
tho oncmy evacuated to us during the nigbt, and which he was the first to enter at daylight. 

I have the honor, sirs, to be 

Your obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, 
Srtgadier-Gfeneral Commanding Third Division, Heintzklman's Corps. 
(Reb. Roc.V, Doc, pages 18 [2], 19 [1].) 



KEARNY PATCH. 

After the Battle of Chantilly the army retired to the defenses of Washington. 
General Birney retained the command of the First Division of the Third Army Corps, 
which had devolved upon him, on the death of General Keakny, by right of seniority. 
General Keabny, before his death, had issued an order requiring the officers and men 
under hisi;ommand to wear a Badge or Mark, by which they would be known wherever 
met. This Badge was apieee of scarlet cloth, worn on the cap or hat, so as to be visible at 
all times. This was the first attempt to designate officers or men in our army by any di.v 
tlnctive mark or badge. The evident object of this order was to indii'idualise the members 
of this division, and to designate the officers and men, should they lag on the march, or 
Btraggle in action. 

General Birney and his men reached the defenses of Washington, afteratedlous march, 
on the 3d of September, 1862, On the next day he isstied the following order : 

HEADQUARTERS KEARNY'S DIVISION,! 
Fort Lyon, Va., September 4, 1862. / 

[General Orders, No. 49.] 

The Brigadier-General commanding this division announces with deep sorrow the death 
of Major-General Kearny, its gallant commander. He died on the battle-field of Chan- 
tilly as his division was driving the enemy before it. 

The entire country will mourn the loss of this chivalric soldier, and officers and men of 
this division will ever hold dear his memory. 

Let us show our regard for him by always sustaining the name which, in his love for tho 
division, he gave it, viz., the " Fighting Division." 

As a token of respect for his memory, all the officers of this division will wear crape on 
the left arm for thirty days, and the colors and drums of regiments and batteries will be 
placed in mourning for sixty days. To still further show our regard, and to distinguish 
his officers as he wished, each officer will continue to wear, on his cap, a piece of scarlet 
cloth, or have the top or crown piece of the cap made of scarlet cloth. 

By command of 

Brigadier-General D. B. BIRNEY. 

J. B. Brown, 

Acting Assistant AdjutantGcneraL 

The S'carJei Paic/i referred to in the foregoing order was soon converted into a piece of 
red cloth or flannel, cut in the form of a diamond, and this for some time was known as 
the Kearny Patch. —Xi/e of David Bell Birney, Major-Oeneral U. S. Volunteers 
(Philadelphia. King & Baird, 607 Sansom St.; New York, Sheldon & Co., 400 Broadway, 
1867), page 73. 



i 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

DEATH AND OBSEQUIES OF MAJOR-GENERAL 
. PHILIP KEARNY. 

" THE END CKOWNS ALL." — ShaJcespcare. 

" A gentle knight was pricking on the plain."— Spensek. 

" Be bold. Be bold, and everywhere be bold."— Si»enser. 
" High erected thoughts seated in the heart of courtesy."— Sir Philip Sidney. 
" That chastity of honor which felt a stain like a wound."— Wordsworth 

" Bold as thou in the fight, 
Blithe as thou in the hall. 
Shone the noon of my might, 
Ere the night of my fall. 

" How humble is death, 

And how haughty is life ; 

And how fleeting the breath 

Between slumber and strife ! " 

Harold. 

" Three hundred brave men lay down to sleep upon the sod, which sod, within three 
davs. they were to sleep beneath." — Bache's Dumas' " Tales of Algeria." 
" Triumph for freedom's battle-cry 
Shall give us courage new ; 
Our country shall stand fixedly 

While Northern hearts are true ; 
Then, countrymen, we'll hand in hand 

To honor's figlit away ; 
And free shall be our Fatherland 
Until the Judgment-day." 

Siegeslied natch der Schlacht Ixd Leipzig, 

" False flew the shaft, though pointed well, 
The rebel lived, the hero fell ! 
Yet marked the Peri where he lay, 
And when the rush of war was past, 
Swiftly descending on a ray 
Of morning light, she caught the last — 
Last glorious drop his heart had shed. 
Before its freeborn spirit fled. 
' Be thlss' she cried, as she winged her flight, 
' My welcome gift at the Gates of Light : 
Though foul are the drops that oft distU 
On the field of warfare, blood like this, 
For Liberty shed, so holy is, 
It would not stain the purest rill 
That sparkles among the bowers of bliss I 
Oh I if there be on this earthly sphere 
A boon, an offering Heaven holds dear, 
'Tis the last libation Liberty draws 
From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause ! ' " 

Moore's " LalUx Boohh.'' 



444 ■ BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

"Good fortune,'' saj-s Polybius, "is equally open to every one ; but they are only Generals 
endued with prudence, discrimination and fortitude, whom we must consider as cherished 
by the gods. When any persons, from weakness of intellect, want of knowledge and ex- 
perience, or through inattention, fail to perceive the various principles and tendencies 
of an action, they commonly ascribe to the immediate interposition of Heaven, or the favor 
of Fortune, the success which was owing to the united result of wisdom and sagacity." 

" And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves, 

Dewy with nature's tear-drops as they pass, 
Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves, 

Over the unreturning brave. Alas I 
Ere evening, to be trodden like the grass, 

Which now beneath them, but above shall grow 
In its next verdure, when this fiery mass 

Of living valor, rolling on the foe. 
And burning with high hope, shall moulder cold and low." 

Bykon's " Childe Harold,'" iii, 27. 

" Let the tide of the world wax or wane as it will," Morton thought, as he looked 
around him, " enough will be found to fill the places which chance renders vacant ; and, 
in the usual occupations and amusements of life, human beings will succeed each othej, as 
leaves upon the same tree, with the same individual difference, and the same general 
resemblance." Old Moetality, ii, 277— '8. 

" RESPLENDET GLORIA MABTIS 
ARMATI BKFERAM VIRE.S." 

Claudian de Zand: SUL 

" Brothers-in-arms, attend my prayer: 
When I in battle die. 
To my native ' State ' my body bear, 
In my native ' State ' to lie." 



ZTie (Grenadiers. 



" By fairy hands their knell is rung; 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung ; 
There Honor comgs, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay 
And Freedom shall a while repair, 
To dwell a weeping hermit there." 



William Collins. 



' That life is better life, past fearing death, 
Than that which lives to fear." 

" Measure for Measure." 

" Noblest of men woo't die ? 
• « « « * « c 

O, withered is the garland of the war, 
The soldiers' pole is fallen." 

Shakespeare's " Anthony and Cleopatra,'' Act Iv, scene 13. 

" Oh ! happy the man around whose brows, he (Death) wreaths the bloody laurels In the 
glitter of victory." — Goethe's " Faust:' 

" Now let us ail for the Percy praye 
To Jesu most of myght. 
To bring his sowle to the blysse of heven, 
For he was a gentyll knight." Ancient Ballad. 

" Hall, Kome, victorious in thy mourning weeds ! 

E^ $ lit :jc « 

Thou great defender of this Capital, 

Stand gracious to the rites that we intend! — 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 445 

Behold the poor remains alive and dead ! 
These that survive let Rome reward and love ; 
These that I bring unto their lalrst home 
With burial amongst their ancestors : 

Make way to lay them by their brethren. 

(.They open the tomb.) 
These greet in silence as the dead are wont, 
And sleep in peace, slain in your country's wars ! 
O, sacred receptacle of my joys. 

Sweet cell of virtue and nobility" 

Shakespeare's " Titus Andronieus." 

" Lo, the leader in these glorious wars 
Now to glorious burial slowly borne — 



Lead out the pageant, sad and slow, 

Let the long, long procession go. 

And let the sorrowing crowd about it grow." 



Tennyson. 

Kearny had fallen, one of those men to whom a country 
could look for saving service in the crisis of a nation. A man 
who, at the sartie time, realized Chaucer's idea — 

" That he is gentil that doth gentil dedis " — 

as well as that of Sir Walter Scott, as expressed by the loss 
of his hero, Roland Gr^me : — 

" He who fights well must have fame in life or honor in death "— 

one of those men Montgomery had in his eye when he wrote — 

" Gashed with honorable scars, 
Low in glory's lap they lie, 
Though they fell, they fell like stars. 
Streaming splendor through the sky." 

Like Cromwell and Napoleon, and many other great soldiers, 
his spirit passed away amid the turmoil of the tempest ; in his 
case a tempest of the elements as well as of men, as if nature, 
in convulsion, sympathized with the conflict of human passion. 
At the very moment that he died, he seemed to stand upon 
the threshold of a grand future, for no part which a man can 
be called upon to play, is so grand as that of a great general, 
to whom Heaven accords the glory of preserving his country, 
and maintaining the rights of the people ; for, says Decker, 
the most practical and concisely comprehensive of all military 
writers, " A great captain is the greatest gift which God can 
vouchsafe to a nation." It does not always require the explicit 
language of official commission to designate the man to whom 
the leading staff will be intrusted when a catyclism occurs; 



4:46 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

■when a man is found whose whole life has been consistent, 
resplendent, indicative of combined energy, ability and intre- 
pidity. In the words of a world-wide known writer, words 
applied to Harold, the great, popular Saxon King of England, 
" The final greatness of a fortunate man is rarely made by any 
violent effort of his own. He has sown the seed in the time 
foregone, and the ripe time brings up the harvest. His fate 
seems taken out of his own control ; and greatness seems thrust 
upon him. He has made himself, as it were, a want to the 
nation, a thing necessary to it ; he has identified himself with 
his age, and in the wreath of the crown on his brow, the age 
itself seems to put forth its flower." How eminently true, 
however, in its highest signification, is this applicable to Grant, 
whose greatness Kearny dimly foresaw or estimated while his 
star was just rising above the horizon of the mass of military 
appointments, and how fully realized in his ©lection to the 
Presidency, exactly as Harold was elected Basileus (King) of 
England. 

Rarely an event occurs of general importance which does not 
confirm the adage that " coming events cast their shadows 
before," and public opinion — like those rumors which often fill 
the air, yet are not susceptible of being traced to any particular 
source — seem gradually to have embraced the conviction that 
the man best fitted to command the Army of the Republic, the 
" Army of the Potomac," was that one-armed Philip Kearny, 
Avho combined in a very great degree the indomitable constancy 
or will of IT. S. Grant ; the fiery energy and dash of Philip 
Sheridan; the personal courage and winning manners of 
Hooker ; the practical strategy and foresight of William 
Starke Rosecrans'; and the cultivated mind and military 
information of Meade. According to the testimony of inti- 
mate friends, one the principal adviser of General Kearny — 
one who had the best opportunity of knowing every fact con- 
nected with the last twelve months of Philip Kearny's career 
— the command of the Army of the Potomac would have been 
given to Kearny" had he survived a few days longer to assume 
that responsible position ; to which it was deemed that Pope 
had proved himself unequal, and to which the supreme authority 



BIOGKAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 447 

was most unwilliug to restore McClellan; yes, was almost 
humiliated in being compelled to restore McClellan.* Pope 
could not retain the command since, weighed in the balance of 
prejudice — unjustly weighed — he had been found wanting, 
sacrificed in a measure as another patriot was subsequently sac- 
rificed — in the opinion of another general as personally brave 
as General Kearny, betrayed as well as sacrificed — his failure 
was attributed not to those who had been the active or passive 
causes of it, but to himself. 

Kearny died impressed with the false idea that he was the 
object of neglect and injustice on the part of those in whose 
opinion he stood the highest; in the estimate of the people, 
and in the judgment of those who represented the people. 
Never was a man more greatly self-deceived. Chafing under 
the wrongs of little minds, tempororarily invested with power 
to wound his sensitive nature, he did not look abroad beyond 
the narroAV circle which hemmed him in with its unintelligent 
lethargy — harder to bear than open animosity — to the great 
mind of the great people, who, in Abraham Lincoln, had its 
rugged, truthful, apt expression. 

At the very moment when that fatal single shot or volley 
struck down the " bravest of the brave, and the most perfect 
soldier," a letter was lying in the Wixr Department, signed by 
the Assistant Secretary, ready for transmission, and Avhich was 
forwarded after his death, of Avhich the following is a copy : 



* " McClellan should never have received the command again, because, to use the lan- 
guage of one of the ablest and most philosophical historians of the ' Slaveholders' Rebel- 
lion ' : ' Though^there never was purer patriotism than that which animated the soldiers 
of the Army of the Potomac, that army had been brought, through the influence of officers 
who surrounded General McClellan, into a most dangerous cbndition — dangerous to the 
best interests of the nation — of having a wish of its own, and that wish in opposition to 
the conviction of the government. In armies it is but a very short step from the possession 
of a wish to the expression of a will. Perhaps at no period of the war were thoughtful men 
more deeply alarmed for the future of the nation than when they heard of the restora- 
tion of McClellan to the command, and recognized the unmistakable constraint under 
which Che government had acted. It was in vain for well meaning persons to affirm that 
the General had never been relieved, and that what had now taken place was no more 
than an ordinary proceeding; the Peninsula disaster was too recent, the complaints and 
asseverations of Pope of disobedience to his orders, among the higher officers, too loud 
for the real state of affairs to be concealed.' " —John W. Draper's "Civil War in 
America," 11, 444-'5. 



448 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" WAR DEPARTMENT, ) 
"Washington, September \st, 1863. J' 
" SiK — The Secretary of War directs me to acknowledge the receipt of 
your note of August 23d, warmly urging that Major-General Keaiiny be 
assigned to one of the corps d'armee, to be formed from the new levies. In 
reply, the Secretary instructs me to say that he knows no one more capable 
and worthy of command than Major-General Keakny, and that, on the 
re-organization of the army, he will endeavor to assign him a position com- 
mesurate with his eminent merits and distinguished services." 

" I have no warrant to state," continues Cortlandt Parker, 
Esq., Kearny's counsel, friend and biograplier, "and yet there 
is satisfactory ground for believing that even a higher jjosition 
than that alluded to, namely, the command of the ' Army of 
the Potomac,' would have been his, had he lived long enough 
to take Pope's place. Mr. Stanton had ceased to have respect 
for the ability of General McClellant. With that great man 

halting and timorous hesitation and procrastination had no 
favor, while bravery, skill and constant success like Kearny's 
had overcome original prejudice and detraction, and converted 
him into admiration and confidence. In a letter under his own 
hand to Mrs. Kearny, he says : ' His devoted patriotism, heroic 
courage, and distinguished military skill, had secured to liim 
the confidence and admiration of the governn-.ent, and endeared 
him to the people of the United States, who mourn his loss.' * 

*But language will vainly endeavor to describe the grief, either of the army 
or the people, at this sad event. Botli had long been intelligent observers of 
his career— the army, througli daily opportunity, the people, in spile of liis 
contempt of newspaper fame, and of the fulsome efforts made by so many offi- 
cers, or their friends, to extol their merits while ignoring those of others. 
Tliey Icnew him to be the savior of the Army of the Potomac, and conse- 
quently of the country, on various occasions — at Williamsburg, by rushing 
on tbe field at the moment of almost complete defeat, after jamming liis way 
for hours through miles of encumbering masses, and by his skill, rapidity, 
and personal exposure, snatching splendid victory out of the very jaws of 
defeat; at Fair Oaks,* by stopping the demoralized reti-eat of the divisions 

*Fair Oaks.— Sedgwick came. Hooker and KEAnxy came — Hookee with the 16. 
New Hampshire and Uie 1st and 11th Massachusetts; Keakny JwiiA Ihe life, hloodof Nexu 
Jrrsfi/. hrave men. all of them. They i-aliied tor a clexperaie charge — one which has deter- 
mination in it, when every man feeU that he utantU at the pat.eu'ay af centuries, a.i LJ-oNinAS 
stand at Thermopylce. Twenty-four cannon, additional, were brought up. The united 
divisions, firm aiid unyielding as the granito of tlieir native mountains, moved to the 
cliarge — ■inward, rit;lit"onward, nnhcodiiig dcatli or li!i''. Tliey came upon tlie enemy like 
a thunderliolt — l)ore down tiie living niassi's in Iront as if they were automatons — sent 
them tlN-ing over tlie (ield, and captured twelve pieces of artilcry; one brigade, including 
three regiments: also Col. Pendleton, of the Louisiana t)attalion. and E.K-Congressman 
LamaN, of the 1st Georgia regiment. It was the finale. The enemy was defeated at last. 
He had come on with high hopes ; he retired discomtitted. It was a brilliant victory. It 
inspirited our troops. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. ^iO 

And, again: 'His high appreciation by this Department Avns 
shown hy tlie rank lie liad won by long services and many gal- 
lant deeds, wdiich would have been acknowledged by still higher 
command, if he had not fallen on the field of Chantilly.' 

At first it was supposed and generally believed that Kearny 
had been taken prisoner. The hope of the soldiery had been 
fother to the thought. A few short hours, however, dissipated 
the doubt. His body,* on the morning of September 2d, was 

of COTCU and Casey, withstandins the exultant rebels pressing on to the 
destruction of all the troops then on the Richmond side of the Chickahom- 
iny, until the arrival of Sumner restored the equality of numbers, and ena- 
bled us to gain the victory of the next day; on the New Market road, hy again 
rushing in at the critical moment and beating back the triumphant masses of 
the pursuing rebels; they now saw him at the Second Manassas, on the first 
day, checking the enemy after all others had tried without success, almost 
driving them back, and sustaining the unequal contest with their heavy 
reserves till night closed the combat; on the second day, standing till 10 p. m., 
the rear guard of our retreat, covering it, and at last himself retiring to take 
his place in camp, iu front of the advancing Confederates; and finally, at 
Chantilly, after passing from front to rear (that is, from opposing the enemy 
in front, to opposing the same enemy in the opposite direction), losing his 
inestimable life In driving off the untiring Jackson from cutting our commu- 
nications — a task which his lieutenant, Bikney, whose whole experience in 
war had been under him, performed. So that to Kearny's division again was 
due the safety of the discomfited army. They saw elsewhere, from McClel- 
LAN down, pei-sonal jealousies and personal views interfering with and 
restraining the energy of officers who should have known nothing but their 
duty and the [enemy, while Kearny was always reliable, and, when danger 
was greatest was always there. And so they mourned for him, not with grief 
only, but with fear. For -where, where was tiiere then such another? Hooker 
had his bravery, but not his skill. Besides these two, what generals at that 
time, in that army, were famous either for military skill or self sacrifice? 
And the exulting were more successful than ever! The North lay, to all 
appearance, at their mercy. (Cortlandt'Parker'S " Philip Kearny, Soldier 
and Patriot," pp. 40-41.) 

*" The remains of General Kearny were brought into Washington on the morning of 
the 3d of September, 1862, under charge of Capt. G. W. Mindil, AssLstant Adjutant-General 
for General Kearny, and Captain Fitzhdgh Birney, Assistant Adjutant-General to 
General Birney. They were embalmed by Drs. Brown and Alexander. The Secre- 
tary of AVar granted a furlough, which he wrote with his own hands, to Captains M 

and B lor five days, to enable them to carry the remains to New York. If I remem- 
ber correctly, the New York Herald of the 5th jor 6th of September, '62 (perhaps 7th or 
Sth), gives an accurate account of the ceremonies. 

" Capifiin Mindil afterward became Colonel of (the 27th and 33d) New Jersey Regi- 
ments, and Brigadier-General and Brevet Major-General U. S. V. He was a highly distin- 
guished ofBcer. The Adjutant-General of New Jersey could inform you of his where- 
abouts. I feel assured he could give you some valuable information. 

Captain Birney, a noble officer and a martyr to the duties of his ofHce, died at George- 
town, D. C, in July, 1864, from sickness incurred in the Wilderness fight, etc."— Major G. 
H. Heckman. 

57 



450 BIOGEAPHY OP MAJOR-GENEKAL PHILIP KEAENT. 

sent in to the Union lines, his horse, saddle and swoi'd were 
likewise snbsequently returned,* but his person had been rifled 
and no doubt of articles of value, for it appeal's to be an 
acknowledged fact, that Kearny usually carried large sums of 
money upon him ; money which he always used with lavish 
generosity to relieve the wants of our own soldiers, and had 
often been expended in alleviating the necessities of rebels and 
enemies. 

General Hooker has often alluded to the fact that Robert 
E. Lee sent in Kearny's body and effects to Jdm, as an act of 
intentional courtesy. If so, the choice of Hooker was most 
appropriate, for of all his brethren in arms, there was not one 
who was more highly appreciated, or was more greatly esteemed 
by the Mien hero. They had foxight side by side, they had 
borne the heaviest burden and the hottest heat of the day 
together, and, in one of the hardest, if not the hardest, conflict 
they had passed through, Hooker, almost in extremity, had 
sent forth a despairing cry for succor, addi'essed not to those 
most near, not to those most able to give it, but to that man, 
the farthest from him, whom he knew, that, if manhood and 

* While it must be conceded, tliat, according to received opinion, Kearny's remains 
were treated with the higliest respect by those into wliose hands they fell, and that Hobeht 
E. Lee evinced a generous conduct in this regard, the following quotation is entitled to a 
place. -It Is an extract from " Field and Camp," " by an officer," and published in Scoit's 
Motithly (a Georgia) Magazine, transmitted from Kentucky to the writer : — 

" Just before dark, an ambulance came up and deposited a dead man in a house near by. 
He proved to be Major-General Phil. Kearny, U. S. A. During the fight, he had acci- 
dentally ridden on one of our regiments, when the men called out to him to surrender. 
Disregarding this, he suddenly wheeled his horse about and attemtited to gallop off, when 
he was shot, and died almost immediately. He had lost an arm in Mexico — was a large 
handsome man, and, as he lay there buttoned up in his uniform, presented a splendid 
specimen of physical strength. Our men, of course, crowded around to see a Yankee gen- 
eral. One poor, ragged, barefooted fellow, cast a longing look at the fine cavalry boots he 
had on, remarking, as he did so : ' Number nines— just fit me,' and turned away, no doubt 
thinking it a great hardship that he was not permitted to appropriate them to his own 
use." 

The following paragraph from the same article would lead the reader to suppose that 
the treatment of our dead at this time depended on individuals, rather than on the spirit 
which animated some of the enemy: — 

" I was very tired, and as all was quiet, laid still. Presently T heard one of the men 
remark to another, ' Do you believe a hog would eat a dead Yankee? ' "No, I don't,' said 
the other. 'Well, look there,' was the reply. I looked also. There were two dead Yan- 
kees l^ing close to the fence. They had been killed by shells, and were badly blown to 
pieces. One had his breast torn open, and the greater portion of the liver was hanging 
out. Two or three hogs were at work on it, tearing it to pieces, and eating away with 
great satisfaction." 

Does this need comment ? 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 451 

soldiership could save him, would overcome every obstacle, and 
be in time to do so. Hooker has often reverted, Avitli great 
feeling, to the fact that Kearny's corpse was consigned to his 
friendly hands, and the writer records the fact with the gi*eater 
pleasure, since the last person to whom he was introduced by 
liis lamented cousin was Joseph Hooker, whose " Battle above 
the Clouds," the capture of the formidable positions on the 
summit of Lookout Mountain, as extraordinary an exploit as 
the theatre of the action was extraordinary, has invested his 
achievement with a romantic interest of which scarcely any 
other event of the war is susceptible. 

" That glorious chief, to whom was given 
The right to scale the clouds of heaven, 
And bear the starry flag on high, 
Back to its native regions in the sky. 
Behold our General on the rocky height! 
A stately statue in a dome of light,— 
With all the Rebel army put to rout, 
Our 'fighting' Hooker takes a long Look Out." 

There is nothing which makes so deep an impression upon 
those who have loved and lost, as the fact that it matters not 
who disappears from the ranks of the living, no matter how 
high in intellect, or exalted in position, or extensive in influence, 
nature evinces no knowledge of the accident, and no sympathy 
with the event. Poets and historians have eudeavorod to con- 
nect convulsions of nature with the fall of great men, but it is 
doubtful if any can be authenticated, since the " Prince of life 
yielded up the ghost," and the *' Light of the world," as far 
as regarded the garb of humanity, was extinguished. Still 
curious coincidences do occur, and one of these distinguished 
the hour when Kearny fell. Everything was invested with 
the deepest gloom. A fearful storm burst upon the field with 
nnusual violence and unseasonable rigor, bringing in premature 
darkness. As Dumas says of Preuss-Eylau, " sudden night " 
set in. The fortune of the country seemed enshrouded in gloom 
and at its lowest ebb ; the popular military idol had proved him- 
self unworthy of confidence; the wiliest politician, grown gray 
in studying the expressions of human inconsistencies, had 
uttered the falsest prophecies and the most delusive hopes. 
The shepherds and watch-dogs were both at fault, and events 



452 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

had proved that the solution of the problem was not with 
them, nor within the scope of their control or comprehension. 
Thenceforward the question was to rest with the People. It 
was the crisis of the fate of the Nation, Almost in despair, 
men, thoughtful men, began to look alone to God as the arbiter. 
They began to feel that eternal justice must be propitiated 
before we could hope for success. Lin^coln, never leading, but 
always being propelled by the people, saw this. Slavery was 
the curse of our nation, and the origin of all our difficulties. 
Then the nation bowed to His will, who alone can " give us help 
from trouble ; for vain is the help of man." Emancipation was 
the solution. The people, moved by the Spirit of God, which 
is Liberty, willed it : Lincoln decreed it. Then was realized 
the promise, that "through God we shall do valiantly; for He 
it is that shall tread down our enemies." Then night fled, and 
morning broke. 

At this crisis, the darkest hour, that darkest hour which 
always precedes the dawn of a new day, Kearny fell. The 
Bun of his day, on that dismal first evening of the autumn of 
1862, sank shrouded in gloom, as if the great light ofHlie uni- 
verse veiled its face from the fall of such lights as Stevens and 
Kearny, and the kindred spirits who perished at the climax, 
sacrifices to redeem their country. On the morning of Septem- 
ber 2d, the sun rose again unclouded, as if the propitiation had 
been accepted, and shone in all its splendor, while the honored 
remains of the hero were restored to his mourning friends. 

Four days later they lay in state, in his residence at Bell 
Grove, opposite Newark, filled with the gems of art with which 
the taste of the living man had surrounded himself But the 
most glorious object there, amid that profusion of precious 
things, was the body of the slain warrior, with his remaining 
arm pressing to his bosom that exquisite sword * which he had 
won at the price of the absent limb. 



* In connection with this "exquisite sword," the reader's attention is invited tQ. three 
docvjments following this chapter. 'V\\% first, "Sword Presentation for Kearny's Services 
in Mexico," was kindly furnished by Mr. Thomas S. Townsend, who deserves to become 
famous for his compilation of a stupendous Cyclopedia of new.spaper articles in connec- 
tion with the " Slaveholders' Rebellion," which, in Itself, is equal to a large library on that 
subject. It should constitute a portion of Chapter XII, and precede the concluding para- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 453 

His funeral can never be forgotten by an eye-witness. "Words 
cainiot do justice to it, for it was sublime in tlie spontaneous 
exhibition of the grief, respect, and love exhibited by the popu- 
lation of a huge city. It Vas a marvel, not in Avhat was 
ordered, but in what was not decreed. His obsequies were 
those which in Europe are only accorded to a king and a con- 
queror. Let tlie relative be silent ; let the faithful friend tell the 
rest. He has indeed told the truth, and tears almost start in 
the eyes at the perusal of his pages, linked with the recollection 
of those mourning drops upon the cheeks of tens of thousands, 
wliose honest tears accompanied and followed the corpse of 
New Jersej^'s most brilliant soldier, the son of her adoption, 
but the son of her deepest love. 

" It is impossible to forget his funeral, or to refrain from re- 
calling here its striking circumstances. Intended to be simple 
and quiet in the extreme, the people willed it to be an occasion 
of most solemn grief, and would not be restrained from the 
privilege of being mourners. Crowds daily thronged his man- 
sion, Avhile the dead hero lay awaiting burial, his bronzed 
features seeming to smile defiance even of the last conqueror. 
The city authorities of Newark almost compelled the procession 
to cross the Passaic, and traverse the streets of the city ; while 
deep bells tolled, and wailing music thrilled the air. And, most 
affecting of all, from the entrance of the cortege into the city 
till it reached the point of departure from it, spontaneously, 
irrepressibly, in solemn silence, except for the tears and sobs of 
many, came forth a crowd of people, of all ages and each sex, 
reverently baring their heads in presence of the dead for which 
they had stood hours in waiting, as orderly and as carefully 
placed as if under military directions, yet entirely unregulated 

graph on page 153. It was not received, however, until six months after that chapter was 
in priivt. The second, " Kearny's Charge in Mexico," should have been incorporatod 
in Chapter XI, and refers partly to an incident alluded to on pages 138 and 149, but princi- 
pally to the grand charge which is the main subject of the chapter. This highly interest- 
ing letter from a participater in the glorious achievement did not come to hand until 
nearly a year after this chapter was in print. The third document, " Keminiscences oi" 
Keahny," is from the pen of Brevet-Major U. S. V. and Colonel N. Y. V. Clifford 
Thompson. It relates to Kearny's first association with any military organization in 
connection with our Great Civil War. This, too, was not sent to the author until about 
ten months after the Chapters XVI., XVII., XVIII., XIX., to which It refers, were in the 
hands of the printer. 



454 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GEXERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

by authority — an army of mourners testifying thus the depth 
of their grief, and their appreciation of their liero's services. 
On no occasion, except the funeral of Lincoln, was such regard, 
within my knowledge, manifested. And so he was borne to 
the venerable yard where his father and his dead, darling boy 
lay. The magnificent service of its cathedral church was 
chanted over his remains. The final salute echoed through the 
great city, startling the speculations of its busy exchange. 
There he lies, not mouldering, but embalmed, while his memory 
is embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen." 

"Four days later" — is the corroborative language of an 
eloquent writer and acute observer — "all Newark was in tears 
as the long funeral cortege filed slowly through the streets, 
bearing to his honored burial her most brilliant son ; nay, the 
bravest, the ablest and most accomplished soldier that had as 
yet poured out his life-blood on any battle-field of the great 
Avar. Trinity church, in the metropolis, was opened. The 
coffin, with the sword and trappings of the deceased, was placed 
in the main aisle ; the service was read, and then the choir 
poured over the vast assembly those sublime words of Mendels- 
sohn's ' St. Paul :' 'Happy and blessed are they which have 
endured ; yea, blessed and happy are they.' 

" The massive portal of the family tomb was opened, the 
cofiin and its load of sacred dust laid away for its perpetual 
rest beside a soldier kindred in blood and qualities ; while the 
wails of martial music and the thrice-repeated volleys showed 
that no mark of respect, no sign of woe, was wanting in the 
funeral ceremony. 

" ' Such honors Ilium to her hero paid, 

Then peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade.' 

" General Kearny fell in the dimmest and gloomiest hour of 
the great struggle. Two weeks more of life and he would have 
seen a noble stroke falling fall on the rebel crest" at South 
Mountain, and three days after that again, had Hooker been 
supported as Kearny had ever supported Hooker, such soldier- 
ship and leadership as the former ever evinced would have made 
Antietam what it should have been, what it must have been 
with any eflbrt of true generalship — the decisive battle of the 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 455 

wai" at the East, a Gettysburg, with consequences as awful to 
the rebels as the discomfiture of tlieir hopes, their j^lans aiul 
their efforts had been complete. " Impetuous, fiery, sanguine, 
and brave almost to recklessness, it was his misfortune to be 
commanded, during the year of his service in our war, and the 
last of his military career, by men for whose military ability lie 
seemed to feel only a mutilated respect. Though at no time 
permitted to engage in a decisive battle, and generally leading 
a forlorn hope or fighting against time till reenforcements came, 
or called to restore a shattered front, or to make a retreat sullen 
and dangerous, General Keaent in no instance failed to execute 
tlie precise duty which the commanding general expected of 
him. At Williamsburg he was ordered to hasten to the front 
and support Hookee. He reached the front by exertions the 
most strenuous, and he did more than merely support Hookee, 
' he saved Hookee.' At Fair Oaks, after Casey's division had 
crumbled under the impact of the rebel force, he arrested the 
rout, stayed the enemy's advance, fell back in order when sorely 
pressed, and held the field till the heavy reenforcing column 
from the north bank could reach the scene and retake the ground. 
In the Seven Days' retreat he was vigilant, firm and defiant, 
protesting at every step of retrograde and making the enemy 
pay dear for every advantage gained. At Groveton, his fighting 
and the ground he twice wrested from the clinch of Stonewall 
Jackson is the one brilliant jewel on the sackcloth of disaster. 
Chantilly is redeemed from obscurity and made fascinating, 
though not emblazoned with positive victory, by the story of 
his spirited defense, the brave front he opposed to disaster, and 
the uncalculating courage with which, in that lowering night- 
fall, he dashed out through the unknown forest, resolved to 
master the situation though the reconnoissance might cost him 
his life — as it did. 

" Philip Keaeny's place in the Army of the Potomac was 
never made good. His mantle fell on no man's shoulders. 
Brave men and brilliant men rose after him, and fought well 
and died well. The face of the country was made historical by 
great battles, from the Susquehanna to the Appomattox. But 
no such figure as his careered with knightly grace in front of 



456 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

the serried battle-line ; no voice like his to ring above the roar 
of the cannon ; no spirit so potent as his, whether to sustain 
, men through disaster or cheer them on -to victory ! " 

Consigned to the family vault in Trinity churchyard, his 
remains were deposited by the side of two of his relatives, 
who, like him, had held commissions from their country in a 
previous war ; one of whom was a cavalry officer, with a record 
almost as resplendent as his (Kearny's) own, one who had pre- 
ceded him as an aid on the staff of Major-General Scott. At 
the same time, a staff officer in one of the regiments which had 
occupied the ground around Arlington House, up to the time 
that Kearny assumed the command of his famous New Jersey 
First Brigade, and now formed pai't of the funeral escort, was 
another cousin who had won his warm regard, and received the 
highest approbation of his superior for gallant service at the 
First Bull Run, a brother of Kearny's Volunteer Aid at Wil- 
liamsburg, 

One, however, was wanting at his ftineral whom the dead 
warrior held in the highest respect and regarded as the 
first general of his time. This was Lieutenant-General Win- 
field Scott. The veteran commander's letter, however, 
sufficiently explains the reason of his absence. Brief as it is, 
the concluding sentence is such a glorious testimonial to the 
worth of the deceased, that it might be selected almost without 
the change of a word as the most appropriate inscription for a 
monument to Kearny. 

In the opinion of the American people, Lieutenant-General 
Scott must always occupy a place in the first rank of their 
military leaders — between Lieutenant-General or General (it is 
questionable if the latter title was ever actually conferred) 
Washington, and Lieutenant-General, afterward General, 
Grant. Neither the services of the Father of his Country, in 
establishing the nation, nor those of Grant, in preserving it, 
can lessen the glory of the "hero of two Avars," who maintain- 
ed the national honor amid so many doubtful issues on our 
northern frontiers, and carried " Old Glory " through obstacles 
apparently insurmountable, to a consummate triumph in Mexico. 
No one was capable of forming a juster estimate of Keakkt 




JOHN WATTS' FAMILY VAULT, TRINITY CHURCH YARD, 

NEW YORK CITY. 

Burial place of Major Gen. Philip Kearny, U. S. V., and of Lieut. George 
Watts, U. S. A. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GEIn 

than Lieutenant-General Wintield be 

military family of that accomplished veter^ 

quired the principles of the science of war, an^ 

the eye of that intrepid old lion-leader that Keak. 

his most notable exploit, leading the Balaklava charge 

American one hundred through an army, up, if not into^ 

San Antonio gate of Mexico. 

The closing lines of Scott's letter of regret could not be 
stronger. No follower, friend or relative of Kearxy could ask 
them to be stronger. 

West Point, Sept. 7, 1862. 

Dear Sm : I am much grieved that I did not know of the time and 
place of the funeral of Major-General Kearny till the receipt of your note 
yesterday about noon, when it was impossible for me to reach New York 
in time, or, cripple as I am, I should certainly have made every eflFort to 
be present to assist in doing honor to the memory of an old staff officer of 
mine, and recently a highly distinguished General — the bravest among the 
bra/ve — whom the whole Union admired in the field when living, and now 
mourns among the dead. / look upon Ms fall, in the present great crisis 
of the war, as a national calamity. 

Respectfully yours, 

WINFIELD SOOTT. 

The writer has received two letters in regard to the death 
of Major-General Philip Kearny, which clear up every doubt 
as to the manner in which it- occurred. The fii-st is from an 
officer, who, in consequence of his modest, unassuming manners 
is scarcely known beyond the circle in which he moves, and 
yet that officer discharged his duty with such efficiency as to 
elicit the grandest testimonials almost ever accorded to a staff 
officer.* 

* Brigadier-General Haupt characterized him as " one of the few No. 1 officers ;" Major- 
Goneral Hancock sought him for his staff; Major-General Meade wrote: "There is no 
officer of tliis army, who, in my judgment, from arduous and faitliful services, has more 
fully earned promotion;" Major-General Warren testified, among other warm en- 
comiums, for " constant, laborious and oftentimes daring reconnoissances. It is not too 
much to say that his services were indispensable in our marches through the country in 
which the army ha.s continually operated." Colonel Macomb, U. S. Engineers, charac- 
terized him as " indefatigable, thoroughly honest and conscientious." Finally, not to tire 
the reader, an Army Correspondent of the New York Tribune, speaking of the value of 
good staff officers, pays the following merited compliment to Captain W. H. Paine. It sur- 
prised least those who knew him best, that he should be thus spoken of: " There is a cer- 
tain Captain of Engineers at army headquarters, who is, with scarcely an exception, the 
hardest wo ked and most useful officer in this whole army. It is his business to ascertain 
— and he m ust do it mainly by personal observation — the topography of every new region 

58 



.-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENT. 



xevet-Colonel W. H. Paine, of the Topo- 

ihe Army of the Potomac, He describes 

*nd evening of the 1st September, 1862, as the 

.membered, durina: his term of service. The storm 



„• army occupies. He must take surveys, question contrabands, deserters and prisonera 
in regard to roads, bridges and fords, draw maps, and consult, oftener even than corps- 
commanders, with the ' Major-General Commanding.' In a word, the army is often de- 
pendent upon the judgment of this one captain. A fortnight ago, at Spottsylvania, he 
partly discovered and partly made a road, where four miles were saved in moving troops 
fi-om right to left of line. That night, amid the darkness and rain, he piloted over this 
road the Second and Sixth Corps, and next morning, by attack and surprise, we captured 
twenty guns and 7,000 prisoners. But for the discovery of a blind bridle-path, which fiity 
pioneers in two hours' time widened and improved to the capacity of a road fit for artil- 
lery, the attack which resulted so successfully would not have been thought practicable. 
ViCTOB Hugo attributes the timely arrival of Blucher at Waterloo to a happy choice by 
a subordinate (a country lad) of the right road, which was but a half defined path — so 
much do battles hinge on apparent trivialties. The ofQcer I have been talking of— a modest 
man, who will be startled beyond composure should he ever see this — is Captain W. H. 
Paine, of the Topographical Engineers, an appointee from civil life." In 1675, Eousset (at 
page 172, vol. ii.) of his " Life of Louvois," the great war-minister of Louis XIV (in whora 
we had a feeble parallel in Stanton as to capacity, but exact in energy and despotic 
prejudices), represents the Prince of Gonde as begging " that one Chamlay may be sent 
to comfort or assist him, as he knows exactly how to do so." " This Chamlay, Roitsset 
remarks, deserves to hold a much higher rank or consideration in the military history of 
Louis XIV, than is generally conceded to him. He discharged the duties of Marccluti 
Omuiral den Logls dc I'Armce, which is translated in technical dictionaries •' Quartermua- 
ter-General." This does not by any means express his peculiar functions. The duties of 
this office consisted in reconnoitering the routes which the troops were to follow, the en- 
campments which they were to occupy, and, on occasion, the ground on which they were 
to fight. These are the very services which are now discharged by officers of the general 
staff, or, with us, are more peculiarly those of the Topographical Engineers. Chamlay 
possessed the genius of military topography. In April, 1672, when Louvois was having 
the routes studied out by which the armies of Louis XIV were to advance to attack the 
forces and strong places of Holland, the Duke of Luxemburg wrote to him : " This, sir, 
is a report whose preparation I have assigned to Sieub I)E Chamlay. I do not know 
him. but, perhaps, he is the most proper person who can be found for such a duty. Tlie 
man is a living map, and he can make an exact map of any ground, even if he has only 
Been it once." What is more, Chamlay was an honest man and a capable one outside of 
his profession, but withal, so modest that he did not seek to obtain what he deserved. 
His merit naturally compelled its recognition and impressed capable judges. Turenne 
and CoNDE quarreled to get him. He soon won the confidence of Louvois, and under 
him became a second minister of war. After the death of Louvois, Louis XIV wished 
to make him, Chamlay, titular minister of war. Chamlay refused. Having been the 
friend of the father, he did not wish to supercede the son, or rather he would only accept 
the burthensome portion of the inheritance; the business, the cares, the work; leaving 
to Babbezieux the honor of the success, the distinction of the ministerial office, and the 
enjojineut of the power. Chamlay, like Vauban, like Catinat, was one of those men 
so rarely found, at once full of intelligence and integrity, whom any one can praise with- 
out distrust (or discount) because the cynical Saint Simon has praised him; one whose 
constant and sincere friendship, after being an endorsement for Louvois, living, con- 
tinues as an honor for his memory, and in case of necessity, a shield (or justification)." If 
such a character applies to any one man more than another in the armies of the United 
States, evoked for the suppression of the "Slaveholders' Rebellion, " it belongs to the 
civilian-appointment, originally a surveyor. Titular Captain, Additional Aid-de-C^mp 
Guide and Topographical Engineer, Brevet Colonel U. S. V., W. H. Paine. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 459 

"was so violent that, then and there, for the first time, he found 
it impossible to make any observations or take any notes. 

It was during this fearful storm, through which the battle 
continued to rage until the enemy were repulfeed and their at- 
tempt to flank us frustrated, that he met General Keakny. 
The following is his statement of that interview, intensely in- 
teresting because he or General Birney were the last with 
whom Kearny conversed upon earth : 

Dear General : In accordance with your request, I will mention such 
circumstances as occurred under ray own observation, just previous to the 
death of the brave and gallant General Philip Kearny upon the field 
of battle, knowing that any incident, however trivial in itself, which tends 
to throw any additional ray of light upon the events of the last hour of 
one whose memory all delight to honor, will be appreciated, and by none 
more than by yourself. 

The rebel General Jackson's troops were moving on the 1st of Septem- 
ber, two days after the battle of Groveton, down the Little Eiver turnpike, 
with a flank well extended and protected, while the Union army was 
moving upon and holding the road leading from Centreville and inter- 
secting the Little River turnpike, about one and a half miles west of 
Fairfax Court House. 

General Reno's Corps was moving down between these two roads, and, 
becoming engaged with the enemy, formed in line of battle facing the 
north. It soon became very stormy and dark, but still the battle raged, 
and, as it progressed. General Reno's forces moved further to the right, 
vacating the ground previously held by his left. 

On riding from this point, I found General Kearny, with his command, 
about to advance from the rear toward this vacated position, and informed 
him that it was vacated, and that his own left and front were imcovered 
by the movement of General Reno's troops. He expressed suriDrise, and 
said that, from the instructions he had received, he thought there was a 
force there which he was to support, if necessary. After replying to his 
particular inquiries as to who I was, and my means of information, he 
added that it conflicted both with his instructions and other information 
received ; but if true, was very important for him to know. I then left 
him. I learned, subsequently, that he went forward immediately, and 
came soon upon the enemy, by whom he was shot. 

We all know of his personal bravery and courage, and are not surprised 
at the idea of his braving the danger of a personal reconnoissance to ascer- 
tain the relative position of the enemy to our own troops, when that point 
was in doubt and the knowledge of vital importance. 

Kearny could scarcely have parted from Pajne when he 



460 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAKNT. 

encountered Birney. The particulars were thus given by 
General Birney,* his valuable subordinate, afterward himself 

* " On reaching the field, near the village of CllantillJ^ General Birney, by orders from 
General Kearny, reported to General Reno, and was ordered to the front. When he 
arrived, a portion of the division of Geuferal Stevens was retiring in disorder, the 
officers of the regiments stating that their ammunition was exhausted. Birnky ordered 
forward the 4th Mains, and then took forward the 101st New York, 3d Maine, 40th and 1st 
New York. These regiments engaged and drove back the enemy, though greatly inferior in 
numbers. As the regiments were going forward. General Kearny came up with Ran- 
dolph's Battery, which was at once put In position to sustain the brigade. General Bib- 
mey pointed out to General Kearny a gap on his right, caused by the retiring of Stevens' 
men, and asked that Berry's Brigade be ordered up to fill it. Kearny insisted that it 
was impossible for such a gap to exist, and said he would ride forward to see what troops 
were there. Birney warned him, and urged him to remain, saying he would ride into 
the enemy's lines, but Kearny retorted a jesting remark about Birney's caution, and 
dashed ahead. This was the last Birney ever saw of his friend. In the words of General 
llEiNTZELiiAN, he pressod ' forward ' to reconnoitre in his usual gallant, not to say reck- 
less, manner, and came upon a rebel regiment. In attempting to escape he was killed. 
The country has to mourn one of its most gallant defenders. At the close of the siege of 
Yorktown he relieved General Hamilton in the command of the division, and led it in 
the various battles on the Peninsula, commencing with Williamsburg. His name i3 
indentified with its glory. 

" As General Kearny did not return. General Birney' supposed he had been taken 
prisoner, and assumed command of the division, being the ranking brigade commander 
on the field. Though a violent thunder-storm was raging, our men fought desperately, 
and Vie enemy were driven from our front. Their retreat was hastened by the Thirty-eighth 
New York and Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania, which Birney ordered up ' to complete the 
victory.' Afterwards Robinson's and Berry's brigades were ordered forward to relieve 
the tired and decimated regiments, and Birney remained in possession of the field until 
3 \. M., the next day, when he followed, with the division, the corps of General Reno to 
Fairfax Court House. 

" During the night (1st September) our men were busy In removing the wounded and 
burying the dead. About 10 p. m., the officer in command of the enemy's lines sent a flag 
to General Birney and made himself known as a former correspondent of Birney's, at 
Columbia, South Carolina. He said he had within his lines the body of General Kearny, 
and would forward it if General Birney wished him to do so, Of course General Birney 
requested that the mangled body be sent him, and.when the troops moved they carried 
with them the remains of their beloved and gallant general. That midnight march was 
a sad one for officers and men. They had gained a victory, and an important one, but 
their brave leader had fallen, and his death caused grief which prevented any exultation 
over their success. Birney was not the least of the mourners. Though for months he 
had been in the midst of carnage and slaughter, he could not restrain his feelings, and had 
the enemy, during the darkness, made an attack upon those lion-hearted men, who a few 
hours before had won a victory at the point of the bayonet, they would have found them 
unmanned and almost Incapable of resistance. 

" The success of our arms at Chantilly was of great importance to our army. General 
Pope, disheartened by the want of co-operation on the part of some corps commanders, 
was on the retreat towards Washington with exhausted troops, who had become dispirited 
by frequent reverses. The rebel commander, with troops flushed with success, attempted 
to out-flank General Pope. Had this movement been a success, such of our men as suc- 
ceeded in ragaining Washington would have entered it as a disorganized mob and not as 
an army. Besides this, the wounded and sick were suffering for want of care and medi- 
cine. One large train of medical stores had been captured, and the movement which 
Chantilly had frustrated would have resulted in the loss of the second train, which was 
then on its way to General Pope's Army. General Pope, in liis official report, on pages 
18 to 27, gives to the, success of Chantilly its real importance. He says (page 27), 'The 
main body of our forces was so much broken down and so completely exhausted, that 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 461 

a martyr to bis country's cause : " During the battle of Chan- 
tilly, my brigade was actively engaged. I noticed that Ste- 
ven's Division had * * retreated, leaving a gap of half a 
mile on my right. I asked General Kearny for Berry's 
Brigade, to iiir it ; he stated that he had ordered the colonel 
commanding to report to me, and was indignant at his delay. 
But he said it was impossible that General Reno could have 
permitted such a gap ; that I must be mistaken ; that there cer- 
tainly Avere troops there of ours. I assured him that there was 
not. At this time it was raining, and the smoke from the bat- 
teries hung low. I galloi^ed down to send in a regiment to my 
left. He accompanied me, and as we leaped a ditch his hoi'se 
shied, and he remarked how disagreeable that a horse should 
behave so in a battle. He then gallojDcd to the right, and I saw 
him no more." From Colonel, now General Medill (Mindil ?), 
then his Aid, I fill out the history. General Kearny was on a 
black horse, and covered with an iddia-rubber cloak. It was 
late in the evening — dark with clouds, the drizzly rain, and the 
shade of the woods. He determined to see for himself if such 
a danger existed as such a gap in the Union line. Bidding 
Colonel Medill stay behind, he dashed forward to inspect. 
Pollard says : " General Kearny met his death in a singular 
manner. He was out reconnoitering, when he suddenly came 
upon a Georgia regiment. Perceiving danger, he shouted, 
' Dont fire — Pm a friend ' — but instantly wheeled his horse 
around, and, lying flat upon the animal, had escaped many 
bullets when one struck him at the bottom of the spine, and, 
ranging upwards, killed him almost instantly." 

they were in no condition, even on the 1st of September, for any active operations against 
the enemy, but I determined to attack at daylight on the 2d of September in front. of 
Chantilly. The movement of the enemy had become so developed « * * * and was 
so evidently directed to Fairfax Court Iloase, with a view of turning my right, that I made 
the necessary disposition to fight a battle on the road from Ceutreville to Fairfax Court 
House. 

" Reno was to push forward to the north of the road in the direction of Chantilly. 
Heintzelman's Corps was directed to take post immediately in the rear of Reno. * * 
Just before sunset on the first, the enemy attacked us on our right, but was met by a 
counter attack by Hooker, McDowell, Reno and Kearny's Division, of Heintzle- 
man'3 Corps. A very severe action occurred in the midst of a terrific thunder storm, and 
was terminated shortly after dark. The enemy was driven back entirely from our front.' "— 
" Xi/e 0/ David Bell, BiRNEY, 3f(y'o)--G'e(ieraJ United States Volunteers" (Philadelphia, 
King, Baird & Co., 7 Sansom St.; New York, Sheldon & Co., 400 Broadway, 1867), p. 
69, etc. 



462 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

« 

Doubtless this is very near the truth, and tallies almost exactly 
with the story related to the writer at the time, substituting a 
Louisiana for a Georgia regiment. Had Kearny enjoyed the 
use of two arms he would have escaped, since he could have 
thrown himself completely out of the saddle, Indian fashion, 
thus interposing his animal as a shield. An inch more depres- 
sion would have saved him, for the angle of incidence was such 
that in the latter case the ball would have been deflected out- 
loard, occasioning a mere superficial woxxnd, whereas it glanced' 
inioard., with mortal eifect.* 

After Kearny left Birney, he was next seen by Brevet Lieu- 
teuant-Colonel. Samuel, N". Benjamin, Second U. S. Artillery, 
whose account is as follows : " After the action at Chantilly had 
been over for more than an hour, troops from my left began 
marching past my position going toward the turnpike. I was 
on our right, and a country road, or a form road, ran past my 
left and then went up an opening toward our left flank. After 
a number of troops had passed and the road was clear, I saw 
General Kearny^ ride past at a swaft gallop, entirely alone, and 
turn doAvn the road to^vard our left, in the direction the troops 
had come from. It was dark (probably between 8 and 9 p. m., 
I am uncertain as to time), but he passed within twenty feet of 
me, and in the full light of my fire. I called to him to warn 
liim that the troops there had been partially or entirely with- 
drawn, but he did not hear. I called one of my oflicers to send 
after him, but the General was well out of sight for some min- 
utes before he came, and we thought it was useless to look for 

* Washington, Sept. 5th, 1862. — " Having discovered a prevailing error in regard to the 
wounds upon the body of Major-General Philip Kearny, created, no doubt, by the mere 
surmises of various newspaper correspondents, we, as the embalmers of the body, feel it 
a duty we owe to the public, and the family of the deceased, to give a true statement of the 
facts. Major-General Keabny met his death by the reception of a Minie rifle-ball of 
large calibre, which entered his body through the gluteus muscles, at a point a little back 
of the articulation of the left hip joint. The ball, impinging on the bones of the pelvis, 
penetrated the os-innominata, whence it directed its course through theabdominal viscera, 
to the integument just above the umbilicus, sliding up between the skin and the sternum, 
where it lodged, forming a distinct and discolored tumor just above the centre of the 
breast. We cut the ball out, which was much flattened and abraded by the resistance it 
met in passing through bones. We placed the missile in the hands of Captain W. C. 
MoRFORB, Quartermaster of General Kearny's staff, to be by him delivered over to the 
disconsolate family, who will no doubt keep it as the most valuable relic bequeathed to 
them by the " bravest of the brave. " 

^Signed) Drs. Brown &. Alexander, 

Embalmers of the Dead, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 463 

him in the dark (I was lame and could not rise from the ground 
without assistance), although we both felt uneasy about him. 
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, I heard in that direction two 
musket shots, followed by a straggling volley of 2:>erhaps thirty 
shots, or less. It was the firing which sealed his fate. I was 
in the same place until 2 a. m. of the same morning, and heard 
no other firing. 

"A Captain Hall, who was one of Bttenside's Quartermasters 
when in Pleasant Valley, Maryland, during October, 1862, gave 
me an account of his death, which he got from a rebel ofl5cer, 
then a prisoner. I am not sure whether it w^as direct or not, 
but I think the officer either claimed to have been present or to 
have got it from one present with the party who killed the Gen- 
eral. I loved and admired General Kearny, and am glad his 
record is to be placed before his countrymen." * 

The news of Kearny's fall shocked the whole nation. 
Kearny had enjoyed so many miraculous escapes and passed 
through so many perils, that the people had almost come to 
believe, with the old officer of the Huguenot wars, that "a 
gallant and all-daring heart is a buckler which neither steel nor 
lead can penetrate." Nay, Kearny almost seemed to realize 
the superstition of the Thirty Years' War, and of the " Iron 
Age " of Sir James Turner, that there were men, " Gefroren 



*This note isjnserted that every account may be presented, but the author places the 
most implicit confidence in Col. Bkxjamix's story. 

" We are informed by a prominent lawyer of this city, that, while sojourning in Amboy 
last night, he passed a pleasant hour in company with a former rebel officer, who was 
attached to Stonevvall Jackson's division of the Confederate army during the war, and 
who related an interesting reminiscence of the death of General Kearny, of which sad 
event he was an eye-witness : 'The gallant Kearny,' he said, ' received his death wound 
from a private soldier under my command, and, when he fell from his horse, I hastened, 
with many others, to the point where he lay, not supposing that his wound was a mortal 
one. Just as we reached his body, however, his limbs gave one convulsive quiver, and 
then all was over. Seeing that he was a major-general, word was sent to headquarters to 
that effect, and General Jackson, coming to the spot, immediately gave one glance at the 
dead officer's features, and exclaimed, " My God, boys, do you know who you have killed? 
You have shot the most gallant officer in the United States army. This is PHir.. Kearny, 
who lost his arm in the Mexican war." He then involuntarily lifted his hat, every officer 
of the group following his example, and for a moment a reverential silence was observed 
by all. Subsequently, the body of the dead soldier was placed upon two boards, and, when 
being removed to headquarters, was followed by General Jackson, General Ewell, and 
other officers, while a regimental band preceded it, playing a dead march.' " — West Virginia 
Nfws (quoting Newark [N. J.] Courier), Ravenswood, W. Va., April 8th, 1869, forwarded by 
Col. F. B. Hassleb. 



4:64: BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

as the soldiers termed it," that it is rendered impervious, by 
magic arts, to steel or to bullet. Clavekiiouse, Viscount of 
Dundee, Avas looked upon by foe and friend as one of these 
charmed men. He was a leader much like Kearny, killed like 
the latter in the moment of success, at Killiekrankie, whom 
Wordsworth commemorated in the verse — 

" O, for a single hour of that Dundee, 
Who on that day the word of onset gave." — 

whom Sir Walter Scott selected as one of his prominent 
heroes ; wliose history has employed so many and such able pens. 

The very fact that it was so unexpected, rendered Kearny's 
death the more shocking. His fall was looked upon as a national 
calamity. For a prominent and magnificent figure to fall from 
its pride of place is always a startling event ; but immeasurably 
more so, when that figure is being elevated to the highest posi- 
tion, and is shattered at the moment when it is about to be set 
up on the very pinnacle of the temple. 

When the certain news of his death came home to those 
scenes which he admired most, and where, as late as in 1855, 
he intended to locate himself for life, a young officer, a cousin, 
who had been with him at Williamsburg, and won Kearny's 
handsome mention for his deportment there, lay stricken with 
James River fever, battling for life with that fell disease. 
When the news of his beloved cousin and commander's death 
was communicated to him, no one was aware how deeply grati- 
tude for almost fatherly kindness, mingled with the warmest 
affection, had rooted itself in the young man's heart. Raising 
his enfeebled head, he exclaimed : " My cousin Phil, killed ?" 
" Yes." The young officer sunk back upon his pillow, lay silent 
for a moment, as if almost unable to credit that the warrior he 
had witnessed defying death triumphantly, had indeed fallen. 
Then suddenly, as if the full realization of the sad truth had 
flashed upon his fevered mind, he burst into a passion of tears, 
turned his face to the wall, and scarcely spoke for two days. 
Many who evinced less visible emotion than the sick soldier, 
felt almost as deeply as he did, and were almost tempted to 
exclaim, that the glory had dej)arted, that a planet had been 
stricken from its orbit. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 4G5 

When Keakny joined the " Army of Virginia," dispirited by 
the treatment lie had experienced ; disheartened at the pros- 
pects ; disgusted at the intermeddling of politicians with things 
heyond their sphere, he looked forward with a soldier's anxiety 
to the immediate future of our arms ; but like a true, patriotic, 
and brave American, he " never despaired of the common- 
wealth," or the restoration of the Union. 

Xo officer in the army of the Potomac had knit himself so 
deeply into the respect of all true soldiers in it. The masses 
might hurrah for McClellan, but the fighting men cheei'ed 
for Kearny. How he stood with those who had borne the 
burden and heat of the day, from Yorktown to Richmond, from 
the Chickahominy to Malvern Hill, from Warrenton to Fairfax 
Court House, was demonstrated to him that day, with whose 
sun " his own glorious light went out." Kearny who had 
covered the retreat on the night of the 30th of August, with 
Hooker (stricken down severely wounded, in the hour of sue. 
cess at Antietani), with Reno (slain at South Mountain), (botli 
of these within three weeks, subsequently), with Stevens (killed 
almost at his side), was again summoned to assume the post of 
danger and of honor. He rode forward like a triumphal con- 
queror. ' 

Regiment after regiment, as his erect and martial form, like a 
stately apparition, passed by through the hurtling storm, 
" hailed hiiu with cheers upon cheers," and followed his shining 
locks (grown prematurely gray with cares for his men) Avith 
their shouts of admiration. This is the picture drawn by one 
who watched his career with unflagging interest. 

An eye witness, who had fought by his side, from the begin- 
ning of the campaign, within hearing of his guns, and in sight 
of their flashes, in every engagement in which he participated, 
corroborates this statement in these words : " On the afternoon 
of the 1st of September, Heintzelman's (Third) Corps was 
ordei-ed to move towards Chantilly, where General Stevens 
was contending with the rebels for the road on which our trains 
were retiring. The Second Division (General Hooker's) was 
in line and about to march ; the First Division (General Kear- 
ny's) had already moved, and General Kearny, seeing the rear 
59 



466 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

of his division well on the way, spurred his horse to hasten for- 
ward so that he might reach the head of his command, for it is 
well known that Kearny was always restless when not at that 
post. As he passed along the line of the Second Division he 
received such a salvo of cheers from that command — each regi- 
ment taking up the cheer in succession, and all swelling into accla- 
mations which rung again — as proved to all within miles that 
a favorite and appreciated General was passing. This was a 
compliment indeed, doubly so when it came, as it did, from a 
rival division, and that division a body of troops which had 
fought for months by the side of the gallant ' Fighting Phil ' 
Kearny's especial command, and had been led by General 
Hooker ('Fighting Joe'). Kearny testified how much he 
appreciated the compliment intended, for, letting drop the reins, 
he took his little military cap in his hand, and bowing low, even 
to the saddle bow, with head uncovered, his horse galloping at 
the top of his speed, he acknowledged this truly heartfelt 
demonstration in his favor." This we have from an eye witness, 
W. B. And thus, as was said of Rienzi — when the wing 
of the death angel cast a shadow over his proudest moment of 
triumph, so that the Popular Tribune seemed by one step to 
descend from the pinnacle of glory into the grave — even 
so " the Bayard of our Host," crowned Avith the applause 
of those best able to judge of his merit, spurred, as it 
Avere, invested with the blaze of acknowledged pre-eminent 
soldiership, into a grave which is all aglow Avith his never 
contested or even questioned fame, a very Phoenix to his 
Pyre. " I can, indeed, sympathize with you, my dear O. S. 
H ," are the Avords (12th of September, 1862, Washing- 
ton) of a letter from a common friend (D. de K -) to one 

of Kearny's original staff officers, " in the loss of the noble 
and chivalric Kearny. I rode Avith him an liour before his 
death as he passed along the lines, and received the cheers and 
plaudits of every regiment he passed, not only his own, but 
troops of other corps. Two days before, in a long talk Avith 
him, he said, " Ah, well ! when this war is over, after a quiet 
sojourn at my Jersey home, I Avill go to Paris and lead a happy 
life, and make up for all this discomfort which surrounds me 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 467 

here." Glorious Keabny. He fell, and his men, by his sjm-it, 
10071 the fight and saved the Army of Virginia. And, alas 
that it should be so ! he was there obliged to die by the jealous- 
ies and lukewarmness of other Genei-als (more of this anon). 
Truly you say that we can not replace him. His brilliant 
daring made timid Generals brave, his fame and name made 
others emulous." It is scarcely worth while to accumulate evi- 
dence of the exalted opinion entertained of Kearny by all who 
knew or watched his " course of light." Still the following 
incident, whether it be wholly true or not, proves what a hold 
Keakny had Avon upon all who had come in contact with him. 
After the war the writer encountered on the Upper Potomac an 
Irishman, in 1862 an employee of the quartermaster's depart- 
ment, who served with the Army of Virginia. Upon learning 
the relationship existing between the person addressing him and 
Kearny, he became very communicative and enthusiastic, and 
spoke long and loud in praise of the dead hero. He said he 
well remembered that fearful night at Chantilly, for on that 
occasion he was in charge of a corrall of 1,500 horses, and had 
his hands full restraining the animals, frenzied by the lightning 
and the blaze of the conflict. When he had almost succeeded 
in making them secure, news came that Kearny was killed. 

" By ," said he, with an awful oath, " when I heard that, I 

thought it was all up, and I let the 1,500 horses go." Doubt- 
less, the man's nerve-force, had become almost exhausted, and 
it is easy to conceive that the tidings of the death of such a 
favorite as Kearny, generally supposed to bear a charmed life, 
made him feel all was lost, completely unnerved him and para- 
lyzed his energy and strength. 

A writer herein before referred to, who never did justice to 
Kearny while living, relents over his corpse, and pays him an 
elegant but deserved tribute of admiration. " A firm front was 
maintained at Chantilly by Reno, Hooker, a part of McDowell 
and Kearny, until Stevens' division of Reno's corps, owing 
to the exhaustion of its ammunition and the death of its 
General, was forced back in disorder. To repair this break, 
Kearny, with a promptitude that marked him, sent for- 
ward Birney's brigade of his own division; and presently, 



4G8 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

all aglow with zeal, brought up a battery which he placed 
in position. But there still remained a gap on Birney's 
right, caused by the retirement of Stevens' division. This 
Birney pointed out to Kearny, and that gallant soldier, dash- 
ing forward to reconnoiter the ground, unwittingly rode into 
tlie enemy's lines, and was killed. In his death the army lost 
the living ideal of a soldier — a preux chevalier, in whom there 
Avere mixed up the qualities of chivalry and gallantry as strong 
as ever beat beneath the mailed coat of an olden knight. Like 
Desaix, whom Napoleon characterized as 'the man most 
Avorthy to be his lieutenant,' Kearny died opposing a heroic 
breast to disaster." 

The simile, however beautiful, is not exactly apposite. De- 
saix fell in a victorious advance, which decided triumphantly, 
for his superior, one of the most momentous battles of modern 
times — a battle which changed the whole face of Europe for 
fourteen years, wliich established a new dynasty on one of the 
oldest thrones in Europe, and has still its effect, after sixty- 
eight years, upon the world. 

A better comparison in some resjDects — as regards regrets 
and admiration — would be the idolized Marceau, killed by a 
rifle-ball at Altenkirclien, on the last day of the fourth year of 
the French Republic, 20th September, 1796. This ornament 
to his profession, of whom it was said that his monument re- 
quired no inscriptions since his name was enough, was charged, 
like Kearny, with the duty of covering the retreat of the 
French army. Like Kearny in this also, he determined to 
check the enemy by a vigorous offensive-defensive. A wood 
was held by a body of Tyrolese riflemen. Marceau advanced, 
exactly as Kearny did, to reconnoiter the ground, Avhen a ball 
entered his left side, traversed the body and lodged under the 
lower rib, and caused his death. Of him, as of Kearny, it is 
recorded, " France (America) adored, and her enemies (rebels) 
admired ; both wept over him." 

" By Coblentz, on a rise of gentle ground, 
There is a small and simple pj-ramid, 
Crowning the summit of the verdant mound; 
Beneath its base are hero's ashes hid, 
Our enemy's — but let not that forbid 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOTl-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 4G9 

Honor to Marceau ! o'er whose early tomb 
Tears, big tears, gusli'd from the rough soUUer's lid, 
Lamenting and yet envying such a doom, 
Falling for France, whose rights he battled to resume. 

" Brief, brave and glorious was his young career — 
His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes ; 
And fitly may the stranger lingering here 
Pray for his gallant spirit's bright repose ; 
For he was Freedom's champion, one of those. 
The few in number, who had not o'erstept 
The charter to chastise which she bestows 
On such as wield her weapons ; he had kept 
The whiteness of his soul, and thas man o'er him wept.' 

C'HiLDE Harold, hi, lvi, lvii. 

In Other respects, however, the fate of Field Marshal Keith, 
the friend and subordinate of Frederick the Great, is a very- 
apt i3araUel, who fell, exactly like New York's brightest war- 
rior son, in the darkest hour of the war which his deeds illus- 
trated. On the night of the 18th of October, 1758, Marshal 
Daun- surprised the Prussian army. At the first sound of the 
cannon, Keith put himself at the head of a few battalions to 
retrieve the disaster, and in this supreme act of duty, fell. 
General Lacy, whose father had served with Keith in the Rus- 
sian army and himself with him on other fields, but now against 
the gallant Scot, recognized the dead body, and burst into tears. 
Like Kearxy and Marceau, Keith Avas equally admired in 
both armies. All three fell endeavoring to retrieve a disaster ; 
not like Desaix, in a victorious advance. 

The comparison, however, between Kearxy and Desaix is a 
just one in some regards, and is strikingly appropriate in more 
than one respect, never contemplated in the quotation referred 
to. Those who concede the justice of the parallel are not 
aware, as a rule, that by the admission they pay the highest 
possible compliment, under every consideration, to Kearnt. 
Desciples of West Point, who consider Napoleon an oracle 
who can not err, should remember that the Emperor spoke of 
liis death as " an irreparable loss," and declared throughout 
life, that in losing him " France has lost one of her most able 
defenders, and I my best friend. No one has ever known how 
much goodness there was in Desaix's heart, and how much 
genius in his head.' " My brave Desaix," he added, with 
tears in his eyes " always Avished to die thus, but death should 



470 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

not have been so ready to execute his wish. Not the slightest 
stain blemishes his beautiful life." NAP0LE0>r accorded him 
the highest esteem, not only for talents but for virtues ; and in 
assigning the summit of the Alps as his burial place to Desaix, 
he contemplated " a homage such as no man ever received, a 
homage due to transcendent virtue and heroism." Those Avho 
prefer home authorities will defer to the opinion of General 
Scott. He remarked : " For scientific war no one has ex- 
ceeded Desaix. He also excelled in the handling of troops." 
This is incontestibly true of Kearny. There are other points 
of resemblance between Kearny and Desaix, which were 
equally marked, which are as curious as those which are strictly 
military. Such as ancestry, education, bravery, generosity, and 
a combination of fiery enthusiasm with perfectly cool judgment 
under fire. Both were the souls of honor, and to both glory 
was as the very breath of their nostrils. In the manner of their 
death they were so far alike that both fell at a crisis. Desaix, 
however, died with the assurance that his blood had not flowed 
in vain, that he had brought up victory with him. Kearny 
died in the midst of disaster, without the consolation of know- 
ing that the tide was about to turn, nay, that the event actually 
hinged upon his death. 

One of the leading New York journals, commenting on his 
fall, observes : " A Washington dispatch has the following : ' The 
following Major-Generals, who "were killed in battle, were con- 
firmed to-day : Mansfield, Stevens, Kearny,* Richardson, and 

* Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, Nov. 5, 1868. 
My Dear Sir: In reply to your note of the 2d instant, I have had the records examined, 
and find the following answers for your questions in relation to General Kearny : 

1. When General Kearny was appointed Major-General of Volunteers, he stood num- 
ber six on the list of Brigadier-Generals. 

2. His commission as Brigadier-General of Vols, was dated 7 Aug., 1861, to rant from 17 
May, 1861. 

3. He was appointed, during the recess of the Senate, Major-Geueral of Vols. ; the letter 
of appointment was dated July 25, 1862, to rank from July 4, 1862. His commission, pre- 
pared after his death, bears date of March 1.3, 1863. The records do not show that the ser- 
vices, on account of which the rank of Major-General was conferred were stated in either 
the letter of appointment or the commission. 

4. At the date of his death, he stood number thirty on the list of Major-Generals of Vols. 
Gen'l^DePeyster, TivoU, N. Y. Very truly yours, E. D. TOWNSEND. 

then Asst. Acljt.-General, 7ww Adjt.-General U. S. A. 

Philip Kearny was not confirmed as Major-Geueral of Volunteers until March 9th, 

1S6H, nor was the order, says Brevet-Maj. G. E.'H , announcing his promotion as 

Major-Geueral, received by his old, then Blbney's division, until November, 1862. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 4Y1 

Reno.' There is sometliing inexpressibly yet heroically mourn- 
ful, ia the brief jiaragraph above quoted. These noble men 
who went down amid the storm of battle Avhen dark days were 
upon the land, who saw not the brightness of coming dawn 
making golden the horizon of promise — lying in the cold tomb 
all unconscious of the barren honor thus paid their names, made 
' Major-Generals ' months after the sods of the valley have 
closed over their silent clay ! 

" And yet there is appropriateness in this act. These iron- 
soldiers of our war for liberty, though dead, ' still live,' as, in 
the days of the Empire, when a hero of the ' Old Guard ' was 
killed, his comrades at roll-call would answer to his name, 
' JIoj% sicr le Champ (PHonneur.'' So we would have our dead 
Kearny, bravest of the brave, a ' Major-General ' among our 
generals, speaking to them with dumb, yet eloquent life ; inter- 
fusing among them somewhat of the fiery force, the calm, the 
cool yet impetuous courage, the rare genius to create, and the 
ready hand to execute, and, above all, the pure, unselfish, superb 
patriotism which distinguished the dead New Jersey General. 

" Brave Phil. Kearny ! Our best beloved, our peerless 
leader, we hail thee, though dead, with thy hard won title — • 
To the memory of Major General Philip Kearny !" And 
again, " Army officers here think this the greatest loss we have 
sustained during the war, and freely acknowledge that we had 
no abler General in the service. General McClellan wept bit- 
terly at the sight of his (Kearny's) dead body here to-night." 

The Tinies^ commenting upon his fall, remarked : " The doubt 
as to the death of General Philip Kearny seems to be set at 
rest. In the contest of Monday, that gallant officer, ahvays for- 
getful of his own safety, fell mortally wounded while leading 
his men into action ; and the country has to deplore the loss of 
one of its most accomplished, experienced, and enterprising 
officers. General Kearny was peculiarly a professional soldier. 
To a thorough elementary training in the art of war, he had 
added careful studies of all the great military authorities, with 
reference to every department of the profession. These studies 
had been the business of his life ; and to give them experimental 
value, he served throughout the Mexican war, it is needless to 



4T2 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

f^ny with the highest honor and distinction, having jireviously 
2:)articipated in the Algerian campaign, and yet more recently 
in the war of Italian liberation. From the leading French Gen- 
erals of the time, he received testimonials of the most flattering 
description, attesting his intrejiidity and skill. Had his bravery 
been attempered with the slightest dash of personal prndence, a 
career so splendid and so promising would not have been so 
untimely ended." Greeley fell into the same error and 
ascribed his fall to reckless or imprudent exposure. This is a, 
great error, an iiujust, though unintentionally unjust, judgment. 
The last sentence of the Times is eminently unjust. The identi- 
cal manner in which Kearny rushed upon his fate showed not 
the slightest want of prudence or discretion ; such has been the 
end of many of the greatest Generals who have filled the world 
with their fame, and ranked the highest in the military annals 
of their resj^ective countries. Many distinguished Generals 
have perished reconnoitering, and many more have been severely 
wounded in this service, one which, when circumstances demand 
it, is no reckless exposure on the part of a commander, but an 
absolute duty. "Washington owed his life, on a similar occasion, 
to the generosity of that marksman of marksmen, Bull-dog Fer- 
g^ison, who fell himself by the bullet of a sharpshooter, at King's 
Mountain, 1780; Frederick the Great, to the awful reverence 
of a Croat ; Stonewall Jackson lost his life in the performance 
of this duty, at Chancellorsville ; Reynolds, at Gettysburg ; 
LoNGSTREET was scvcrcly wounded under similar circumstances, 
and Sedgwick killed in the Wildeimess campaign ; Rantzait, 
1569; Ttjrenne, 1675 ; the Duke of Berwick, 1734; Bessieres, 
1813 ; and Moreau, 1813, lost their lives by cannon shots while 
reconnoitering ; Richard CceiTr de Lion, by a crossbow bolt,* 
1799; De la Mott, 1595, by a bullet; Ward, the Americo- 
Chinese Commander-in-Chief, by a jingall ball. Gustayus 
Adolphtjs was again and again Avounded observing the enemy 
before he made his own dispositions ; Frederick vrould see 
with his own eyes, because he could not in a crisis trust the 
eyes of others, and escajied on more than one occasion as if by 
a miracle. This list might be swelled into pages. 

Another notable instance most apposite to this occasion, is 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 473 

that of General Hotze, who, at the battle of Zurich, 25tli Sej)- 
tember, 1799, "finding affairs becoming serious, and desirous 
of recounoitering the force and jjosition of the enemy, fell in the 
discharge of a duty which is considered one of those few occa- 
sions in which a General is justified in the reckless exposure of 
his life." This officer was so especially esteemed, that while 
his troops continued to do their duty bravely, they lost that 
energy, which alone can give effect to courage. 

A stranger, not conversant with the feelings of the army and 
our people, might under-estimate the loss sustained in the death 
of Keaeny, after reading the eulogies lavished ujDon so many 
of our fallen Generals. In the case of Kearjty, however, there 
is an accumulation of testimony which becomes mournfully im- 
pressive when taken as a whole and compared with that in 
regard to others. All the histories of the war, loyal or rebel, 
all the poetry, all the newspaper notices, all the official reports, 
all private correspondence and oral testimony are in accord. 
The whole constitute a magnificent memorial, a national martial 
symphony, whose keynote was struck by De Trobriand when 
he wrote the concluding sentence of his biogi-ajDhical notice of 
the division commander he so greatly admired. " Such is man. 
He (Kearny) had made his calculations for the future without 
taking into account the death which awaited him twenty days 
after our last conversation. It occasioned something equivalent 
to a public mourning, at New York especially, where the people 
accorded him magnificent obsequies. But nowhere was his loss 
so profoundly felt as in the Army of the Potomac, of which he 
had been one of the first glories, and wherein the thousand 
stories of the bivouac finished by investing his memory with 
th*e proportions of a legendary hero." 

Kearny's career of generalship was crowded'into the space 
of thirteen months, his career as a military power into four 
months ; but what enormous proofs did he give of his capacity 
and his courage in that short space of time, of his ability not 
only to make troops, but use them. As an organizer he emu- 
lated the instinctive efforts of disciplinarians whose names have 
become synonymous for systematic and energetic action. In the 
field his chivalric gallantry displayed a brilliancy equivalent to 
60 



474 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

that of the Cid, and an indomitable tenacity up to a level with 
that which Elliott in Gibraltar, and Massena in Genoa, have 
made proverbial. Condemned to waste eight months in the 
mud in front of Washington, he utilized every moment, and 
then, the very minute when the opportunity occurred — to use 
his own words on another occasion — "he led oif personally from 
the word ' go.' " Thenceforward with him, go was the spirit of 
his every-day life. Had the Russians of 1812-13 served with 
him they would have saluted him with the same endearing 
epithet with which they hailed the master-spirit of the War of 
Liberation in those years, " the little Suwarrow," the highest 
honor conceivable in their opinion, and have ennobled him with 
a title derived from the imperative of a Russian verb, which has 
no present, since it design9,tes action complete. " PaschoU ! " 
" Go ahead," " Forwards." 

This epithet of the " American Bayaed" was applicable to 
Phil. Kearny in more than one resjDCCt, and even approj^riate 
in the manner of his death. The typical French hero is said to 
have been disgusted with the gradual introduction of firearms, 
because their general use was a death blow to every thing that 
was glorious in chivalry. Kearny, like Bayard, was killed by 
a single shot while striving to avert disaster as far as possible by 
personal courage and exposui'e, and in the fall of both of these 
brave men it might be said that France and America lost the 
greatest treasure a country can possess — a citizen who, to 
devoted patriotism, united the powers of a General and a soldier 
fully possessed of the capacity to, influence, electrify and lead. 

In reflecting upon Phil Kearny's untimely fall, the lines of 
Herman Melville's " Battle Pieces" (Chattanooga, 92) must 
recur to the mind of whoever has read them : 

" Near and more near ; till now the flags 

Run like a catching flamo ; 
And one flares highest, to peril nighest — 

He means to make a name ; 

Salvos ! they give him his fame ! 

" But some who gained the envied Alp, 

And — eager, ardent, earnest there — 
Dropped into Death's wide-open arms, 

Quelled on the wing like eagles struck In air. 

" The smile upon them as they died ; 

Their end attained, that end a height : 
liife was to those a dream fulflUed, 

And death a starry night ! " 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 475 

As an eclio to the spirit of these lines and their apposite 
appropriateness, drifts back from the far distant past the 
kindred idea embodied in the words addressed hj Epaminon- 
DAS to his surrounding and lamenting soldiery. " This is not 
the end of life, my fellow-soldiers — it is now your General is 
born!" Born indeed — born to Immortality, whether as re- 
gards Existence or Fame ! 



document No. 1. 

THE SWORD PRESENTATION TO GENERAL KEARNY AFTER HIS RETURN 

FROM MEXICO. 

It will be remembered that a sword was presented to General (then Major) Kbabny by 
the Union Club after his campaign in Mexico. The following is the address of the Cl,trB, 
with the reply of the General in full : 
2b Major Kearny of the \st Regiynent, United States Dragoons: 

On your return from the war in Mexico, where, in a gallant and successful charge at the 
very gates of the Capital, you lost an arm in your country's service, your friends and fel- 
low townsmen, members of the Union Club, felt desirious to testify their sense of your 
deserts, by offering j'ou an appropriate testimonial in honor of your noble bearing in that 
arduous campaign. Too national in our feelings not to profferageneral tribute of admira- 
tion where all employed on the service have deserved so high a meed of praise, we arc 
still free to confess that, as New Yorkers, we feel a special pride when our city's sons are 
enabled to contribute to our country's fame. 

You followed the career of arms as one leading to honorable distinction, and you have 
liberally applied your means and zealously devoted your energies to the profession of your 
choice. 

When called to the field a soldier inquires not Into the causes of the war, but looks to 
the issue of the contest, being mindful only of the honor of his country's flag. You and 
your companions in arms planted our National banner in a foreign soil; it there became 
the symbol of our glorious Union, the type and emblem of home, of country and of fame. 
On every field it waved defiance to the foe, in every conflict it proved the harbinger of 
victory. l.et this sword, which I have the honor of being charged to present .for your 
acceptance, when it reminds j'ou of a war in which you shared alike the glories and the 
sufferings, be not valued the less since peace has followed in the train of victory; nor yet 
let the weapon rust in its scabbard during a night of repose, lest another day should again 
summon you to the battle. We ask of you, for our sake, to regard the sword as a trophy 
that you both sought and won. Wear it in peace as in war, as a token of our admiration 
and (your) modest merit. Accept it as a testimonial from the friends whose esteem you pos- 
sessed in the relations of peace, and who now acknowledge with pride your conduct in war. 

New York, 3d November, 1848. 

General Kearny's Reply. 

New York — November, 1848. 
Sir — The sword of honor which I have this day received at the hands of my fellow- 
townsmen, members of the Union Club, is an overwhelming mark of distinction. It has 
been conferred by you in language, the kindness of which renders the gift doubly inter- 
esting. You bid me to consider this sword in the light of a distinction — of a trophy. 
Indeed, sir, such I most sensibly feel it. I behold in it the mark of regard of gentlemen 
whose esteem is not the " vivat " of the mere enthusiast, but the approval of men calmly 
weighing actions as they pass before them in the moving panorama of life. Yet could I 
scarcely in due modesty admit to myself this full meaning of so honorary an emblem, but 
that silence might be interpreted into insensibility. I am also aided in this avowal by the 
consideration, as you, sir, have so happily expressed it, that the insignia with which I am 
this day endowed are given to me as your townsman, sharer amidst others far more 



476 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

prominent, who, forming part of our late army, planted our country's banner in Mexico, 
and now receive its ennobling tribute of admiration — a host whom our country sent forth 
to exemplify in the eyes of all nations those qualities which everj' individual of the United 
States is ready to bring forward as an offering when the public welfare may require. 

For myself, sir, when on returning from Mexico, with other crippled remnants of tho 
victorious army, I shared, in the hospitable city of New Orleans, those distinguished marks 
of attention which none knew better how to bestow than the generous Southerner, whose 
whole being vibrates iu unison at the touch of honor, I was rewarded. 

When, on arriving in my native city, I felt the pulse of sympathy beat high, and was 
received with cordiality by gentlemen whom I realize the honor of calling my friends and 
associates in the Union Club, my heart was touched. 

This day, on being presented with a sword of honor, I confess that my cup of ambition 
is filled to the brim and overwhelming, and that most amply am I repaid, whatever of 
l^eril and suffering I have encountered. 

In presenting me with this sword, sir, you charged me not to value the gift less, that 
"peace has followed in the train of victory." In our country, where military ardor is 
dangerous unless controlled, the soldier may well prefer the sword, no longer ' baton ' in 
marshalling to the fight, now trophy of victories passed, emblem of a successful war 
achieved. Still, with the predilections of a youth spent in my present profession, must I 
ever as strongly bear in mind that a republic particularly applies the motto "dulce et deco- 
rimi est pro pati-ia mori." With a tear to the memory of cherished comrades, who, having 
already fulfilled the noble role, have passed from a death-bed of fame to a still more glo- 
rious rest, and with a professionof readiness, if at any future period my services be needed. 
Joyfully onco again to follow our country's banner on the war-path, I have the honor to 
conclude my thanks to you as Chairman of the Committee of Presentation. 

But, sir, the associations connected with this day have no conclusion; they will extend, 
with this sword, which you have put iu my power, after proudly wearing during my own 
life, to bequeath, a sparkling memento, to a succeeding generation of republican soldiers 

(Signed) KEAENY, 

[Document No. 2.J 

KEARNY'S CHARGE IN MEXICO. 

Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 12tb, 1869. 
General De PEYSTER : 

My Deak Sib — Your favor of the 24th ultimo (informing me that you contemplated 
writing a life of your cousin, the late Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny, killed at Chautilly, and 
requesting me to give you particulars of his charge at the San Antonio Gate, City of Mexi- 
co, in whicji I participated, and anj' other incident of interest connected with him that 
might occur to me), reached me by due course of mail. * * * When the army, under the 
command of Lieut. Gen. Scott, reached Puebla (Mexico), where we remained some four 
we^ks for the purpose of reorganizing and awaiting reinforcements previous to entering 
on the campaign of the valley, having for its objective point the City of Mexico : an order 
issued from headquarters detaching Captain Kearny and myself, with our troop, from 
our respective regiments, the 1st and 3d dragoons, and attaching us to headquarters in squad- 
ron organization, as escort or body guard to the General-in-Chief (Captain Kearny being 
the senior and I the junior captain), which position our squadron occupied during the cam- 
paign of the Valley and until our flag floated in triumph over the Halls of the Montezumas, 
and the Conqueror of Mexico was relieved from the command of an army that by his 
matchless military genius he had immortalized. Although attached to headquarters, yet 
such was the impulsive ardor and heroic daring of the lamented Kearny, that no oppor- 
tunity was lost by him where dragoons could operate against the enemy; this, too, with 
the sanction of our chief, and our adventures in that direction were frequent and succe.ssful. 
I well remember, that on the morning of the 19th of August, 1847, and previous to the battle 
of Contreras of that day, our squadron, together with three companies of infantry, under 
the command of Major (Lt. Col. Wm. Montrose) Graham, I think, of the (11th U. S.) 
infantry, was detailed to accompany Captain Robert E. Lee, then of the headquarters 
staff (the Lieut. Gen. Lee of the Confederate Army), who had been ordered by Gen. Scott 
to reconnoitre the enemy's works at Contreras, for the purpose of ascertaining their 
strength and position. C' Offlcial account of the Mexican War,'' Ex. Doc. No. 1,304). Gen. 
Valencia, in command of the Mexicans, anticipatingthe object of our movement, sent & 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 477 

force of five hmidred lancers to drive us back. They moved by a circuitous route, and, un- 
discovered by us, until they reached a position on our right flank under cover of a promi- 
nence. Our dragoons were in the advance; our infantry, not keeping pace with us, weri; a 
a short distance in our rear. When we apiiroached within range the Mexicans opened fire 
upon us, when Kkabny, whose keen military eye was quick to see an opportunity and 
prompt to embrace it, without waiting for our infantry, promptly gave proper form to our 
squadron and ordered a charge, when the enemy, as promptly, retreated to a point where 
the ground wa-s broken and covered with pcdregal or lava, the result of an eruption of the 
earth, where they fancied our dragoons could not convenientlj- operate. But Keabny, 
ever equal to an emergency, immediately ordered our dragoons to dismount, and advan- 
cing on foot, killed, wounded and captured quite a number, and drove the remainder to 
flight. The infantry-major, in command of our detachment, %vas quite indignant that 
Kearny should have acted without his orders and thus bear off" the laurels that, of right, 
belonged to him ; he being the senior in command : but Kearny never stood on the order 
of his going ; when opportunity oifered he always " went." The great conflict of the day (the 
battle of Contreras) followed. The struggle was terrific, and when night closed upon tho 
gloomy scene the victory was with neither army ; but, at the dawn of the following morn- 
ing, by a desperate and sanguinary charge upon the enemy's strong works they were car 
Tied in triumph, and nearly the entire force of Valentia either killed or captured. The 
slaughter was terrible ; little did we then dream, that within a few hours wo should be 
again enga.ge6. in the crowning battle of the war — the battle of Churubusco — distant some 
three or four miles from Contreras. There, General S.\nta Anna, with his entire available 
army, were in strong position, evidently anticipating the utter annihilation of our noble 
little ami}', and well he might, when the great strength of his position and his superiority 
of numbers, at least four to one, is considered. This battle was a surprise, as the first inti 
mation we had of his presence in that immediate vicinity, was a furious and destructive 
fire opened on our advance. Then it was, that the military genius of " the great Captain 
of the age" was again invoked, and after a conflict of nearly four hours duration, as san- 
guinary and bloody as ever had taken place on the American Continent, tlic last stronghuld 
of the Mexicans, the great Tete-de-pont — was stormed by our noble army and the battle 
won. At this opportune moment, our sqiuxdron ivas in the right place, and as the Mexicans 
retreated on the causeway that led to the City of Mexico, distant about two miles, with 
Santa Anna at their head, the gallant Kearny saw his opportunity and made the charge 
that terminated at the base of the battery that covered the San Antonio Gate, and that is 
fathfully described in the newspaper article that I send you ; which, after diligent search 
among my papers, is the only one I could find that gives particulars : and, being a partici- 
pant, I prefer that others than myself should speak. Disclaiming, however, for myself, 
any other merit than that of following my gallant leader, as to him all the credit of the 
movement belongs, I write with less diffidence. I would here remind you of the impres- 
sion the chargi made on the mind of Santa Ann.4, when in his report to his congress, 
exculpatory of his fresh disasters, he said, " ivhat might we expect when a mere handful of the 
enemy's dragoons had the teincrity to moxint the very rampart of our defences ;" and, again, 
when on the occasion of a large assembly of officers at Willard's Hotel in Washington 
city, congratulatory to Gen. Scott, at the close of the Mexican war, I chanced to be of the 
number ; the General, in introducing me to Gen. Dearborn, of Massachusetts, stated that 
I had participated in Kearny's charge at the gates of Mexico, and in his emphatic rsi&Q- 
ner added: " Sir, it was the boldest charge I have evei- seen or read of." Maj. Gen. Pillow 
made an official report of the charge, in which I remember he pictured it in glowing 
colors. I did not preserve it, but presume it will doubtless be found in the War Depart- 
ment at Washington. 

It was my fortune to be again associated with Gen. Kearny in the early days of the late 
rebellion. Indeed, I was present when President Lincoln conferred upon him h\s first 
commission as Brigadier-General. A committee of gentlemen from New Jersey, of whom 
Governor Newell was one, was sent to Washington tor the purpose of securing the 

* Lieut. EWELL, named in the article a.s having participated in the charge on the Garita 
San Antonio, who was First Lieutenant in our squadron and a brave and gallant soldier, 
is Lieut. Gen. Ewell of the Confederate Army, and strange to relate was in command of 
the Confederate troops in our immediate front, when Kearny and I lay at'^i lexandria, 
Va., in 1861 and 1862. It is my fervent prayer that our country may never again be the 
scene of an incident so unnatural. (Signed) A. T. McR. 



478 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

appointment of Brigadier-General of the 1st New Jersey Brigade for Gen. Kkarny. I was 
then in the city and was invited by them to accompany them and state to the President 
what I knew of General Kearny's military qualities. I gladly consented ; indeed, it was 
a labor of love as well as duty, and I had the pleasure of hearing the President grant their 
requost; and during that fall and winter (1S61 and 1802) we were organized in the same 
division (Franklin's), with our quarters adjoining each other near the Alexandria Semi- 
nary, Va.; during which time our intercourse was daily and of the most intimate and 
friendly character, and so continued during tlie war and until he fell, nobly defending the 
flag of his oouutry that he loved so well. Me was the soul of chivalry, generosity and hnsjyi- 
tality: well may it be said of him thai he ivas "bravest of th^ brave" and generous as he was 
bravr. I knew him well, aud here permit me to seek to correct a somewhat popular error 
in reference to his qualities as a soldier. Th the casual observer he seemed to be recklessly 
impulsive in his movements, and such was the impression of many. 7%is, in my humble 
jxidgmont, is a grave mistake. In military movement's his perceptive faculties were intensely 
acute, he ^aw quickly, reached conclusions rapidly, and under the inspiration of the military 
ganius with which he ivas by nature endowed and a Si^artan heroism that never failed him, 
executed promptly n7id vigorously. Thus it was, that movements that were the result of 
rapid deliberations (if I may be permitted the expression) were by some deemed to be 
reckless and without aim. In my humble judgment neither army, during the rebellion, prch 
duced his superior in all the qiuxlities that constitute the true and accomplished soldier, and had 
his life been spared and the opportxmiiy given him, none ivould have eclipsed him in the bril- 
liancy of his achievemaUs. ****** 

(Signed) ALEX. T. McREYNOLDS.* 

[Document No. 3.] 
THE IRISH IN THE AMERICAN ARMY. 
. [New York True Sun, Thursday morning, June 22d, 184S.] 
' One of the most interesting incidents of the meeting at the Tabernacle, on Tuesday 
evening (20 1 6 | 48), was the introduction of Captain McReynolds, of the XJ. S. Dragoons, 
one of the heroes of Churubusco. The eloquent, off-hand speech which he made on the 
occasion was the subject of much admiration, and has caused a general desire among those 
who heard him to know something more of the eloquent Irish soldier who stood before 
the meeting, a monumentof the zeal and devotion which Irishmen have always exhibited 
in warmly expousing the cause of their adopted country on the field of battle. CaptaiJi 
McREYNOLDS came to this country when a youth of eighteen, and ha?, we believe, since 
then resided in Detroit, in Michigan. To the Legislature of that State he has been several 
times elected, and in it he has occupied a high, honorable position. He was a member of 
the Michigan Senate when the war with Mexico broke out, and immediately tendered his 
services to the government. The President promptly gave him a captain's commission in 
the Dragoons, and the gallant discharge of his duties in that position has won for him 
enduring honors. The assault of Kearny's and McReynold's Dragoons, on the bloody 
field of Churubusco, was one of the most daring and brilliant deeds of heroism among the 
many proud instances of valor which have shed such undying lustre on the American 
arms in the history of the Mexican war. 

In casting our eye over a number of the Dublin Preemans' Journal, we met with the fol- 
lowing paragraphs relating to this battle, which will no doubt be interesting to many of 
our readers.- The gallant Kearny, who bore a conspicuous part in this heroic exploit 
is a (native) resident of (and buried in 1862-'4) in our city (of New York) : 



* "ANDREW T. McREYNOLDS (Michigan), Captain 3d dragoons, 9th of March, 1847 : Brevet 
Major for gallant and meritorious conduct in battles of Contreras and Churubusco, 20th of 
August, 1847, (Aug. 18, 1848) ; where he was severely wounded in a charge of dragoons at 
Ban Antonio Gate; disbanded ."Slst of July, 1848." ^Dictionary of the Army of the United 
States, Gardner's 2d Edition, page 305). Major McRkynolds afterwards commanded 
1st New York Volunteer (Lincoln) cavalry, to whose conmand he was invited at the 
suggestion of Major-General Philip Kfarny. In regard to the facts connected with this 
command, see Document No. 4. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 479 

" The following appears In the iV. O. Picayune : ' The charge of dragoons referred to was 
made bj' two troops — one led by Captain Keakny, the other by McReyuolds. The 
name Kearny sounds rather Irish, but of the birth or descent of that gallant soldier we 
are unable to speak. We are happy, however, to be able to claim Captain McReyxolds 
as Irish-born, and no one will believe him to be a whit the less a true American on that 
account. Captain McReynolds is a native of Dungannon, in the county of Tyrone' The 
Detroit Free. Press, in quoting from the New Orleans Picayune the passage which we sub- 
join, speaks thus: 

" ' It was in this charge that Captain McReynolds, of this city, received his serious 
wound, his troop,— all Michigan boys — together with Keabny's, participating. It was 
undoubtedly one of the boldest and most desperate charges on record. The commanding 
General of the division thus speaks of the charge and Captain McReynolds and his bold 
dragoons: 'Captain McReynolds' 3d Dragoons nobly sustained the daring movements of 
his squadron commander, and was wounded in his left arm." 

Both of these fine companies sustained severe losses, in their ranks and file*lso (very 
sad casualities). We are informed that the enemy numbered, by their own report, five thou- 
sand infantry and one thousand cavalry,* while our dragoons did not exceed one hundred. 
This small force drove the Me.xicans upwards of two miles and ceased not until they were 
within the battery that covered the gate of the city. In this charge the dragoons cut down 
more than their entire number of the enemy When we consider the extraordinary dis- 
parity in point of numbers, and the raking position of the enemy's battery, into the very 
mouth of which our brave dragoons fearlessly threw themselv.es, we think we may safely 
say it has no parallel in modern warfare. 

The following is the passage from the Picagune : 

" Capt. Keabny's Charge. 
■ " The charge of Kearny's Dragoons, upon the flying masses of the Mexicans, in the 
battle of Churubusco, is one of the most brilliant and decisive feats which have occurred 
during the war. As soon as our troops had carried the formidable tete-de-pont, by which 
the avenue leading to the city was laid open to the cavalry, Captain Kearny''s Dragoons 
rushed upon the yielding' masses of the Mexicans with an impetuosity and fury which 
made amends for the scantiness of their numbers, and bore them back in confusion upon 
the causeway, a force in cavalry four fold that of ours, but the narrowness of the avenue 
prevented him from availing himself of this superiority, and reduced the conflict to those 
single handed issues in which Mexicans must ever 3'ield to our prowess. The audacity of 
the onset of Keabny's troops struck dismay to the hosts which fled before them. The 
retreat became a confused rout, and the causeway was blocked up by the entangled masses 
of the enemy. But even through this obstacle the triumphant dragoons forced their way, 
trampling down those who escaped their relentless sabers. 

" Scattering their foe before them, the dragoons came at last within reach of the formi- 
dable batteries which defended the gates of the city, and a murderous fire was opened 
upon them, which was even more terrible to the fugitive Mexicans than the dragoons. 

" The latter continued their pursuit up to the very gates of the city, and were shotdown 
or made prisoners upon the very parapets of its defenses. This was the moment, if ever, 
that General Scott might have entered the city, had the instant possession of it conformed 
to his preconceived designs. Already had the inhabitants ot the town set up the cry that 
' the Americans were upon them,' and the whole population was stricken defenseless by 
panic terrors. But the dragoons were recalled from the pursuit and the survivors of 
that desperate charge withdrew, covered with wounds and with honor." 

In every narration of the events of Churubusco we have seen this charge and pursuit by 
Kearny's Dragoons commemorated and applauded ; but it appears to have impressed 
the Mexicans far more than the popular mind of our own countrymen. In various letters 
we have-seen written by them from the capital, they speak of the audacity of the dragoons 
as terrible and almost supernatural. 



* The statement of the New Orleans Picayune, as to the numbers of the Mexicans, is 
evidently a blunder, as the estimate of their numbers at the time was about 5,000. — A. T. 
McReykoldb, on margin of " Sun." 



4S0 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOK-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENT. 

[Document No. 4.] 

REMINISCENCES OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

'• The regiment wliich was known tliroughout the war as the 1st N. Y. (Lincolx) Cavalry, 
was organized immediately after President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers 
(the call of April 15, 1861). The day following the one upon which that call was made 
public, a notice appeared in the New York papers calling for young men of dash and 
energj' to meet fur the purpose of iorming the regiment. This brought together a nuraber 
of the first young men of the city, possessing wealth and a high social position. They set 
to work earnestly, and in a brief space of time had twelve companies organized with full 
ranks. Col. Bayard Clark, of New York, was chosen as their Colonel, and he used every 
endeavor to have the regiment accepted bj' the authorities in Washington, but without 
success. Gen. Scott was then (acting) Secretary of War, and he decided that the rebellion 
could be crushed out in a short time by the Regular Army. He was willing to accept a 
few Voluttteers, infantry regiments for garrison duty, but the Regular Army was to have 
the honor and glory of crushing the rebellious " anaconda." At least he would have no 
cavalry. Colonel Clark became disgusted at his non-success and withdrew from the 
organization." 

" Gen. Kearny, who had then freshly arrived from Europe, having hastened home on the 
first announcement of threatened hostilities, was then tendered the command of the 1st N. 
y. Cavalry. Being informed of the fruitless efforts made by Col. Clark to get the regi- 
ment accepted, he consented, conditionally, to assume command. He reopened communi- 
cation with Gen. Scott, urging the acceptance of the regiment, and when this was refused, 
he proceeded to Washington, and in person endeavored to effect his object. But even his 
brilliant record as a cavalry ofiScer and his experience of actual war were treated with con- 
tempt and he returned in despair. He urged the continuance of the organization, predict- 
ing that their services would be needed, but as New Jersey, at that time, tendered him a 
full Brigade of Infantry, he withdrew from the New York regiment and accepted the 
brigade." 

On lea^ang, he recommended the officers to invite Brev. Maj. Alex. T. McReynolds, to 
replace him. This officer had been his Junior Captain in the squadron with which Kearny 
made his famous charge in Mexico. At the very San Antonio gate, McReynolds, like 
Kearny, was severely wounded in the left arm. The former refused to submit to the 
amputation, to which Kearny consented, and saved his limb with an anchylotic joint or 
stiff elbow. McReynolds came on from his home in Michigan and took the command of 
the Jst N. Y. (Lincoln) Vol. Cavalry, and lay all winter with his regiment along side of 
Kearny near Alexandria. A squadron (Companies A and H : See pages 233-4 and 243 — 
244 and 249 supra) of this regiment was attached to Kearny's Brigade when he advanced 
to Manassas, March 9th and 10th, 1862. " He (Kearny) frequently declared, however, that 
be would prefer being a Colonel of cavalry to a Brig.idier-General of infantry. He was by 
education and instinct essentially a cavalry commander, and it was always a matter of 
regret to him, that he was not assigned to that arm of the service." * 

"■The early commanders of the Army of the Potomac were too cautious to entrust to one 
so skillful and daring that arm of the service where daring, not to say recklessness, was 
predominant." 

" The 1st N. Y. Cavalry subsequently came to have an actual existence. Gen. Scott wa.9 
contented with his infantry till Bull Run occurred, when the mythical "Black Horse 
Cavalry" of the Rebels struck terror to his heart and forced him to accept all the cavalry- 
he could get. The 1st N. Y. (then known as the Lincoln Cavalry) was summoned forth- 
with to Washington, was speedily armed and equipped, and in a few weeks was serving in 
the same division with that intrepid and able soldier whom they had once chosen as their 
leader — General Phil. Kearny." 

INCIDENTS. 

" Gen. Kearny in camp was a martinet, and before his fighting qualities made him famous 
throughout the world and beloved by every soldier, was looked upon with aversion by all 
"Volunteers. His own brigade and the 1st N. Y. cavalry were encamped together during 

* This is an error of memory, or Gen. Kearny must have altered his opinions; such, at 
all events, is the view of the author of this book. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 481 

the winter of 1861 and 1862, near Fairfex (^Alexandria) Seminary. The men of these com- 
mands were a frolicksome and mischevious lot of young fellows who had been used to 
rather better fare than was furnished by the Quartermaster, and consequentlj' soon ac- 
quired an unenviable reputation for "accumulating" things. The "ith N. J. and the 1st 
N. Y., were frequently complained of to Gen. Kearny, not only by the residents in the 
vicinity (to whom eggs, butter, milk and poultry, soon became tin^-noivn quantities), but 
by neighboring- commands who made up (unwillingly) all the losses sustained by these two 
regiments in the way of pistols and equipments generally. On one occasion when com- 
plaints had come in rather more freely than usual Gen. Kearny indulging in considerable 
piofanity, wound up by declaring, that he believed the shortest way to capture Richmond, 
was " to put a rail fence on the other side and the 4th New Jersey and Lincoln thieves 
would charge through h— I to get it." 

***** 

" At a subsequent period the Lieutenant (one who incurred Kearny's displeasure at an 
earlier date) so conducted himself in the field under the General's Immediate eye as to 
win from that officer the highest compliments." 

Indeed the same occurred with the whole 1st N. Y. regiment, and one of the finest monu- 
ments in Greenwood Cemetery — that of Lieut. Harry Hidden — bears witness to the 
General's opinion of the fighting qualities of those whom he formerly spoke of as " the 
Lincoln thieves." 

" If a martinet in camp, he was the reverse in the field, and would censure an officer for 
e.iacting from his men those little matters of etiquette and routine duty, which he so 
strenuously insisted upon in camp. On one occasion while on a campaign the General 
rode up to one of his pickets and was formally met by the reserve, who had been sum- 
moned from their sleep to receive him. Returning their salute, he commanded " break 
ranks." and turning to the officer in command said, "let us have no more of this d— d non- 
sense on this campaign, it's well enough when there's nothing else to do ; now we're out 
here to fight, and when we can't fight, let your men sleep. Feed them well, give them 
plenty of sleep, and they'll fight like h— 1." 

" A corporal of cavalry on one of Kearny's campaigns had gallantly led a small squad of 
men against some rebel infantry, I'outing them and capturing some prisoners. That night 
the General rode to the camp of the cavalry, called the corporal out in front of his com- 
rades, complimented him highly for his bravery and promised him promotion. In two 
weeks the young corporal was a Second Lieutenant, sustaining the position with credit and 
winning still further promotion." 

61 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE EPILOGUE. 

A SUMMING UP 

OF THE 

CHABACTEEISTICS OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAENT, 

WITH INTERESTING ANECDOTES 

THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER.* 

" When Erin cites her heart's delights, 

The men of her right hand, 
'Mid statesmen, priests, and bards and knights, 

'Tis Sabsfield leads the band — 
Who, haloed vvitli the battle's lights. 
Where Erin's foes oppose him, fights 

And falls for Fatherland ! " 

'• Le Vraie Guidon cVJTonneur (Bayaed) : 
The true Ensign {or Standard) of Honor." 
" Bon was he (Bayard) in Generosity and Justice; 
Sans-Peur, in that lie never knew Fear: 
Sans Beprochk, since he was never wanting to Duty ! " 

Ideas from Old Lij'c of Bayaed. 
" No officer LIVING," said William III (the great Dutch King of England— one of 
the best judges of human character and military merit who ever lived), " who has 
seen so little service as my Lord Marlborough (the first of English generals), is 
so fit for great commands." — Macaulay's " History of En'ilnnd," iii, (516-17. 

Perhaps no equal number of words could be selected to express more justly Phil. 
Kearny's capabilities as a Commander. 

" Tell me (Napoleon to Dumas), what do you think of Narbonne, whom I have sent 
to command at Raab ? " " Sire," I replied, " I think he is a man whose capacity is fit for 
everything ; he has an elevated heart, and I believe he has all sorts of courage." '" Good ! 
but he has never seen a gun fired." " Sire, I do not believe that he needs ojiy apprentice- 
ship." —" ^femoirs of his oivn time; includinp the Mevolution, the Eminre,and the Eestora- 
tion." By Lieut.-Gen. Count Mathieu Dumas, in two volumes, vol. ii, pp. 317-18. 

* In presenting this work to the public, the author begs its indulgence. Stimulated by 
no ambition of applause, nor yet actuated by any pecuniary inducement, he commenced 
the Life of Philip Kearny as a labor of love, and now offers it as a memento of almost 
fraternal regard and respect — a rough but honest monument of the worth, patriotism and 
ability of a relative, deeply regretted by the whole nation, and who was as a brother to 
the writer, and a father to the writer's son, serving, atone time, with him in the field. 
If this work exhibits imperfections, he will none the less be fullj' compensated by the 
reflection that he was willing to hazard everj-thing. in order to place in a proper position 
the man to whom this nation is so much indebted. The book has been written during 
intervals, from pressing business pursuits, and, indeed, the author never was sure that it 
would be published. The greater part was written and stereotyped in the summerof 186S ; 
but its publication has been neglected up to the present time. Such as it is, we offer with 
all due humility, only regretting that our ability is not equal to the grandeur of our subject. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 4S3 

"Though a strict disciplinarian, (Prince) Euoene (of Savoy) was a Frisnd of tlio Sol- 
dier; and, owing to his kindness of disposition and easy affability of manners, greatly 
beloved by officers as well as privates. His exertions to secure regular supplies of provi- 
sions for the troops were constant and unremitting; and many of his letters, written on 
this important point, bear the strongest possible affinity to those by the Duke of Welling- 
ton on the same subject." — "Biographies of Eminent Soldiers of tlic last Four Centuries." By 
Major-Geueral John Mitchell, page 247. 

" Fond man 
* * yet take this truth from me, 

Virtue* alone is true nobility." Jxtvenat,. 

" The fav'ring gods the brave consign 
E'en in their death to song divine." Pindae. 

" Hier lyes Sib John the Grahame wight and wise, 

Ane of the Chwfreskewit Scotland thrise, 

Ane Better Knight not totheworlde was lent, 

Nor was guid Graham, of Truth and Hardiment. 

Sir John was slain by the Englishe 

22d July, 1298." 

Epitaph in Falkirk Church Yard, Scotland. 
" Ay, man is manlj'. Here you see 
The warrior-carriage of the head. 
And brave dilation of the frame; 

And lighting all the soul that led 
[n (Williamsburg's hot) charge to victory, 
Which justifies his fame. 
' A cheering picture. It is good 
To look upon a Chief like this, 
In whom the spirit moulds the form. 
Where favoring nature, oft remiss, 
With eagle mien expressive has endued 
A man to kindle strains that warm. 
" Trace back his lineage, and his sires. 
Yeoman or noble, you shall find 
Enrolled with men of Agincourt, 

Heroes who shared great Harry's mind, 
Down to us come the knightly Norman fires, 
And front the Templars bore. 

" Nothing can lift the heart of man 

Like manhood in a fellow-man. 

The thought of heaven's great King afar 

But humbles us — too weak to scan ; 
But manly greatness men can span. 
And feel the bonds that draw." 

" Battle-pieces and Aspects of the War." By Herman Melville. 
"It has been remarked, and no doubt with truth, by those who best knew Sir Kalph 
(Abercromby), that the circumstances attending his death were nearly such as he would 
have chosen for himself. The same sentiment has been thus beautifully expressed by one 
Who did not personally know him : ' Over Sir Ralph Abercbomby I do not much lament; 
fhll of years and full of honor, he seems, with his own hands, to have erected a monument of 
glory, and then calmly entered it. When death must come, it never comes better than disguised 
as glory. Such as hU should rather he revered than deplored.' 

" Sir Ralph, who always regarded unhesitating devotion to the public service as the 
first duty of a soldier, could not review his own career during the war without a conscious 
feeling that neither unlocked for disappointment nor ultimate failure, which might have 

• Virtus, " Manhood, the sum of all the corporeal or mental excellencies of man." 

Andbews. 



4Si BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

weighed with less elevated minds, had relaxed his untiring zeal and ardor in the cause of 
his country. He must have felt that he possessed in full measure the respect, the conli- 
dence and the warmest attachment of the officers and soldiers under his command. He 
must have dwelt with uumiugled satisfaction on the promiJtitude, precision and good 
order with which all the movements of the troops had been conducted by the oflicers and 
men; the legitimate result of the just and rigid discipline which he had constantly 
enlorced. Anticipated difficulties and serious deficiencies had been overcome, and the 
character of the * * Army for discipline and valor had been raised and confirmed 
by three actions, which had been fought and won against a brave enemy, * * animated 
by the recollection of the sjolendid victories in which they had shared. Such are some of 
the reflections which must have soothed and cheered the dying moments of the veteran 
commander. 

" Sir Ralph died too s*ou to know the full extent of the service he had rendered to his 
country. He did not live to know that the battle of the 21st March virtually decided the 
late of Egypt." * * — Zieut,-Oen. Abercromby, K. B., 1793— ISOl. A Memoir by his son 
James Lord Dunfermline, pp. 301-'2. 

To sum ujD the character of Major-General Philip Kearny, so 
as to present a word-portrait which will be satisfactory at once 
to the author and to the reader, is a task of no small difficulty. 
CoRTLANDT Parker, Esq., of New Jersey, has done so with great 
ability ; but it is rather of the Man than the Soldier. Kearny 
has been compared to Desaix, and to Bay'ard, and to Rupert, 
and to Claverhouse, and to Ziethen, and to Seydlitz, a twin 
spirit. Popular opinion assigns all these to one and the same 
class, although they differed, the one from the other, in many par- 
ticulars, as much as days differ, or twilight from morning; yes, 
even moonlight from sunlight. Kearny had more reckless' 
dash than Desaix, more ambition than Bay'ard, more patriot- 
ism than Claverhouse, more judgment than Rupert, and yet 
he possessed elemei^ts in common with them all, even as each 
was akin to the other in certain marked characteristics. Re- 
flection has led to the conviction that Phil. Kearny, taken 
altogether, bore the most striking resemblance to the great 
Prussian hero, Gerhard Leberecht Blucher, in his tastes,' 
habits, tactics and texture of mind, in a word, in his " direct 
and daring genius," not only as a soldier, but as an individual. 
Blucher, for a long time, was misunderstood and under-esti- 
mated, until results demonstrated that the popular hero was 
the real. hero. So was Kearny. Napoleon used to call Blu- 
cher ^he " Dragoon " ; the old military high-caste, " Yunker- 
thum," nicknamed him "Slash-sabre," and the world believed 
that these epithets were just, until he arrived at the position 
where he could display his wonderful common sense. Experts 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 485 

then discovered that the dash and the cut and the stab of the 
cavalry officer, or " Old Trooj^er," were subordinate to mental 
iiiculties which only required certain circumstances for their 
display in all iheir intense brightness. Was not this emphati- 
cally so with Kearny — cruelly depreciated by McClellan — 
until, being dead, he no longer stood in the way of either chief 
or favorites? If McClellan did shed tears over his dead 
body, as was reported, were they the tears of regret for the 
great soldier lost to his country, or of remorse, which recog- 
nized, when too late, injustice done, fidelity unrewarded and 
services ignored ? Blucher is almost better known as Marshal 
" Forwards " than by any other title. This term, first applied 
to him by the Russian contingent serving under his orders, was 
at once adopted by the Prussians, immediately after by the 
whole of Germany, by England, and throughout the vast forces 
of the Allies. Yet few Generals ever retreated oftener than 
Blucher, but then his retreats were masterpieces. His circuit- 
ous retreat to Lubeck, in 1806, doubling like a fox, was wonder- 
ful in its fierce obstinacy ; his falling back before Ney, to the 
Bober, in 1813, during which the affair of Haynau occurred, 
cost Napoleon a division, without any adequate return. By 
.his alternate advancing and retiring, in September, 1813, he 
exasperated and depressed Napoleon, who saw the illusion of 
French glory passing away. This systematic plan of avoiding 
a battle, irritated the Emperor even more than the loss of cour 
temporaneous battles, and occasioned the French greater suflfer- 
ing and casualties than could have resulted from a general 
engagement. In 1814, Blucher never retreated but to return 
again with redoubled vigor, doubly dangerous. How beauti- 
fully Norvins expresses this when I^apoleon, hoping (22d Feb- 
ruary, 1814) to catch ScHWARTZENBURG alo«|e, "learns with the 
greatest surprise that the corps (in his front) is that of Sacken, 
belonging to that eternal army of Blucher, which, everywhere, 
reproduced itself and seemed to he horn again from its ruins.'''* 
Was it not even so with Kearny and his division, "fought to 
pieces through the incapacity of superiors?" Again, Oust 
remarks of that same army of Blucher : " He (Napoleon) 
forgot that five victories were not a campaign, and that the 



4:86 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

wave (Blucher) which he had forced back, would at length 
return in pristine power to engulf him." Did not the gallant 
remains of Kearny's division win and hold the field of 
Chantilly, on which he himself breathed forth his glorious life ? 

Who, but Blucher, could have brought up an army from 
lost Ligny to victoriously-annihilating Waterloo ? Was it not 
even so with Kearny? His prompt advance to Mannssas,* his 
hurrying on to Williamsburg, bearing with him succor, safety 
and success, was not near as grand as his tenacity before Rich- 
mond in the retreat to the James, and during the gradual fall- 
ing back from Warrenton to Fairfax. The very fact that hft 
restrained the pursuit at Fair Oaks, as represented by Heint- 
ZELMAN, shows that the fiery ardor of the soldier was tempered 
by the sound discretion of the General. 

Here another of the many close resemblances to Bayard pre- 
sents itself. After the battle of Ravenna, fought on Easter 
Sunday, 10th April, 1512, the remnant of the defeated Spaniards 
were retiring slowly, but in good order, upon the fastness of 
Ravenna. Bayard, returning from the pursuit in another direc- 
tion, descried this still unbroken force, and prepared to charge 
it. Thereupon a single Spaniard left the ranks, and accosted 
him gravely thus : " Senor, you must perceive that you have not 
men enough with you to charge us to advantage (or to effect any 
thing). You have won the battle ; be satisfied, and let us go ; 
for if we get ofi" safe, it is God's will." The veteran Bayard 



* In the New York Times of 6th September, 1869, is an allusion to the Report of Kearny 
as to this advance on Manassas, which proves (as that Report is quoted) that the state- 
ment of its suppression is true. The article referred to is on the second page, entitled, " A 
DAY IN Greenwood," and the quotation occurs in the last paragraph (2d column of it,)in 

the section : ^ ^„^„ 

"LIEUTENANT HIDDEN. 

" Turning away from these ponderous dwellings of the dead, cross to the modest granite 
column which rises on thegrassy slope beyond. It is the monument of Lieutenant Hsnry 
B. Hidden, who fell in a gallant charge in 1862. In the beginning of the war when a very 
general desire prevailed among the regular army officers to make the cavalry arm of the 
service illustrate the dashing heroism associated with it in all countries from time immemo- 
rial, but which, owing to the nature of the country through which the struggle was fought 
out had never been realized, the dashing heroism of Lieutenant Hidden was memorialized 
as an example to that arm of the service. (See Chapter XIX and accompanying Docu- 
ments.) Beneath the bronze figure of the dead soldier is the following inscription : 

" ' Lieutenant HeWry B. Hidden : Born in New Kork : Killed at Sangster's Station, Vi., 
March 9, 1862, at the age of 23 years, in a gallant and successful charge with 14 dragoons 
upon 150 rebel infantry.' 

" HE ILL TRATED THE CAVALRY SERVICE AND OPENED FOR IT A NEW 
ERA.!' _ Yidc Major-General Phil. Kearny's Report. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 487 

silently acknowledged the justice of the warning, even though 
uttered bj'^ an enemy. His men and horses were both fought 
out, he had no supports or reserves, the enemy was falling back 
on his intrenchments ; the judgment of the cool and experienced 
leader regulated the ardor of the knightly swordsman. Ho 
held in his men. 

A short time afterward, the French General-in-chief, Gaston 
DE Foix, incrusted, from plume to spur, with blood, came gallop- 
ing up with a body of cavalry, upon the rear of the same force 
of Spaniards, " Who goes there ? " he demanded of his officers. 
"The Spaniards whom we have beaten." " Charge them ! " and. 
the French horse spurred upon the Spanish pikes. Thereupon 
the defeated but undaunted musketeers poured out a murderous 
volley. Down went Gaston, and the French were repulsed. 
Then the Spanish infantry rushed upon him with their pikes 
and halberts (the bayonets of that era), hamstrung his horse, and 
despatched him with a hundred stabs. He had fifteen wounds 
in the face alone. 

At Fair Oaks, if Heintzelman is correct, Kearny acted like 
the sagacious Bayard, not like the impetuous Gaston. 

Nevertheless, when the hour was propitious, no one was 
prompter to say " On." " Pie has heart and courage," was his 
highest commendation of an officer, but he also said "judgment 
and experience." Misjudged Kearny — grand soldier, but 
consummate General ! 

Superficial writers have styled Phil. Kearny " the Bayard 
of our army," because Bayard's name is universally considered 
as synonymous with gallantry. But, carry out the comparison 
in all its bearings, and it will hold equally good. This parallel 
between Kearny and Bayard commences with the careers ot 
both men — the "bravest of the brave" — and holds good 
in almost every detail. Both were consummate riders in 
early youth ; the latter distinguishing himself as such at 
thirteen. Charles VHI, of France, no mean horseman him- 
self, nicknamed him '■^ Piquet^'' from his furious spurring — 
'■'•pique! pique!" ("spur! spur!"). Kearny's crossing the 
Pedregal in Mexico by night, as a feat, will pair off with. 
Bayard's charge at Agnadello, through water up to his horse's 



488 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

belly; and the former dashing on in 1847, to the attack of 
the San Antonio gate of Mexico, with the latter's equally 
audacious charge into the streets of Milan in 1500. Both 
"believed in the doctrine never to despise an enemy, and like 
Rohan, a master spirit in war, considered that too much money 
could not be thrown away on good spies, who had proved they 
were to be trusted. Bayard paid his spies so well that they 
would rather liave died than betray him, and he never slept 
before any affair of importance, passing the previous night in 
preparation. Kearny was in an equal degree wisely lavish and 
presciently vigilant. Kearny as richly deserved the motto 
ascribed to his valor as Bayard : " Vires agminis unus hahetP 
Nor was the chevalier son of warlike Dauphiny more generous 
to captured foes than the knightly son of New York. 

Lieutenant R. L , aid to Major-General D. B , relates 

an anecdote of Kearny to demonstrate his sympathy and gen- 
erosity toward the sick of our army. L was on board 

the Knickerbocker steamer prostrate with Chickahominy fever, 
and the vessel was filled with victims to the same terrible dis- 
ease, due to the long inaction and severe labors of our army in 
that pestiferous region. He says that Kearny came on board 
to visit the sick and cheer them up by this evidence that they 
had the warm and active sympathy of their superior. Kearny 
went through that large boat — that floating lazar-house — 
with a kind word, a pleasant smile, a grasp of his single hand 
and some soothing or inspiriting remai'k for every one. Nor 
was his sympathy confined to words and smiles alone. Wher- 
ever he thought that money was needed he did not wait till it 

was asked. L saw him put a twenty dollar gold piece 

into the hands of more than one, and thinks he must have 
bestowed several hundreds of dollars in this glorious exhibition 
of manly feeling on that occasion. Is there any record of Mo- 
Clellan's having done any thing like this ? 

Nor was Kearny's generosity confined to our own men, to our 
sick and our wounded. On more than one occasion he supplied 
Rebel officers who had been taken prisoners with means not only 
sufficient to meet the exigencies of the moment but to enable 
them to get along until they could receive remittances from 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY.- 489 

home. Kearney's generous liberality, although frequent and 
munificent, was of that sterling kind, which has the commend- 
ation of scripture, done in secret, not- even letting the left 
liand know what the right hand had done. 

Kearny never forgot the gallant Stuart, who was mortally 
wounded by his side in the engagement with the Rogue River 
Indians, I7tli June, 1851, and died on the following day. After 
the campaign was over and Kearny had returned to California 
he wrote to his friend Rufus Ingalls — then Captain and 
Assistant Quartermaster, now Colonel, Chief Quartermaster, New 
York city, and Brevet Major-General U. S. A., the distinguished 
Quartermaster-in-Chief of the Army of the Potomac — and 
requested him to send a detachment from Fort Vancouver, 
Washington Territory, and obtain the body of Captain Stuart, 
■which had been buried on the field, where, nobly discharging 
his duty, he had been shot down. Kearny likewise forwarded 
a fine metal case for the remains, and continued to display his 
interest in the matter by letters even after he reached the Sand- 
wich Islands and China, remitting a draft for the expenses 
incurred, and paying this last tribute of respect to a deceased 
brother in arms, a man after his own heart. 

Captain Ingalls faithfully complied with his wishes and the 
body was restored to Stuart's relations and native State, South 
Carolina, which voted a sword to the captain's eldest brother as 
a token of the peculiar pride and afiection with which it cher- 
ished the memory of its dead son and soldier. 

How many more instances of this, Kearny's disinterested 
liberality, might be related. 

No man understood better than Kearny the meaning of 
" military arithmetic," as Napoleon styled " his meting out 
death by the hour." 

Both our own and France's "knightly," " electric " and electri- 
fying Bayards bore themselves with knightly, courtesy to the 
vanquished. Both may be said to have possessed three excellent 
qualities of a great General, " assault of the ram (the Roman 
aries, or ram, battered down every thing before it), the defense 
of the wild-boar (an animal famous for its fierce resistance) and 
the flight of the wolf" (most dangerous if close pressed). Both 

62 



490 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

left behind them the reputation of fearing neither tlie vicissi- 
tudes of the seasons, the tempests of life, nor the violence of 
men — ever wise and bravely loyal. When we think of how 
Kearny's deeds tallied with the promise of his few but earnest 
words in relation to the duty of a citizen and a soldier, at the 
crisis of the nation, words uttered while a boy at school; woitij 
repeated in his letter accepting the magnificent sword presented 
after his return from Mexico ; words always borne in mind and 
lived up to by him ; words totally misunderstood by too many 
of our own people, and which could not have been felt by those 
who were — 

* * " mere foreigners of much renown, 
Of various nations, and all Volunteers ; 
Not fighting for the country or its crown, 
But wishing to be one day brigadiers ; " 

it seems as if no praise wliich has been accorded to him is 
too flattering. He relinquished all that made life desirable, 
. like another son of our Empire State, the honest, fearless 
Wadsworth, and like him, to use Lincoln's words, which 
can never die while our language lives, both " gave (for the 
Union) the last full measure of devotion," and on their biers 
fell fast and freely the tears* of the j^eople, in whose cause 
they died. 

It has been justly remarked that no fine, manly character 
can exist which does not possess, and present, many traits of 
the womanly. This was eminently the case of Phil. Kearny, 



* " He was the best General in the army ; Ma loss luill never be made up ; every man in the 
division adored him. Many a poor fellow was seen on the road, cryinofor his toss — and I, 
too, do not blush for my manhood, when I acknowledge that I shed tears." — iV. Y. Times, 
Saturday, September 13th, 1862. 

" His death has cast a feeling of gloom over the city. All the flags are at half-mast, and 
the deepest regret is everywhere manifested for the death of this brave, gallant, fearless 
amd accomplished soldier." — Newark paper, 4th September, 1862. 

" Early the next morning (2d September), however, a flag of truce came in from General 
Lke, with word that Kearny's body had been found. * * General Heintzelm.\n at 
once detailed Major BiRNKY, * * to receive it; * * but before reaching the outposts 
he naet a party having the remains in charge. They had been informally delivered up to 
our men, without waiting for the usual escort to come up. The. body had been rijled of 
siovi-d, pistol, watch, diamond brooch, flnger-rings, and the iwckct-book, in which the Oeneral 
always kept a large amount of money. 

" Among the visitors to-day, to see the remains, was the colored servant of General 
KirAHNY, who burst into an agony of grief on taking a parting look at the body of his 
dead master." — Atlas and Arffiis (Correspondence), Monday, September 5th, 18G2. 

[For the sentiments of general gloom felt by all classes, see John Y. Foster's " JVoiy 
Jersey and tlte Rebellion," pages 815, 816 and 817, which there is no room, to insert.] 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENEEAL PHILIP KEARNY. 491 

and was expressed in a hnudred ways, bnt never more touch- 
ingly so than in his watchful care of his men. In a letter 
to his cousin, Philip Johnt Keaent, Major of the Eleventh 
New Jersey Volunteers, a victim, at the age of twenty-one, to a 
mortal wound received at Gettysburg, he writes : " You must 
have learnt something of the nature of men, as to controlling 
them with decision, but little harshness ; with discipline, but 
justice; but, above all, with careful watchfulness of their rights 
"and comforts. 3fe7i are very grateful ^ far more so than the 
little one may do for them deserves. As to perfecting yourself in 
your new position (as an officer) never let it j^ass from your 
mind in what a false position, a gentleman is, vjho assumes to be 
what he is not.'''' Previously he had remarked as a sequence to- 
the foregoing advice : " If you display courage, it loill grace- 
fully cover a inultitude of shortcomings.'''' Was not this noble- 
ness and gentleness combined, justifying the words of an "riid- 
de-camp in referring to the letters of his deceased General : 
" To you (the author) they will serve to recall that charming 
trait in his noble character, thoughtfulness of others, and the 
desire to reward whom he admired, and condemn whom he 
despised. Had he lived, his sword would have been his his- 
tory." No wonder this aid remembered Kearny's words of 
cheer when severely wounded : " I regret extremely the pain 
you must suffer, and yet it is the high insignia of distinction." 
What a balm such language to the young and brave aspirant 
for military honors, to whom he added, " Join me as soon as 
you can," and then, " knowing your ardent military spirit, I 
caution you not to retard your cure by over anxiety. And yet, 
I trust to having you shortly, permanently installed as one oi 
my staff." Could man have written more comforting words to 
a gallant soldier, burning to join his beloved commander, words 
with promise of fresh opportunities of acquiring glory in the 
light of an example such as Kearny's, and breathing a compas- 
sionate interest, such as never exists but in the heart of a hero.* 

* The following letters were forwarded, for insertion, just eleven months ago, but were 
mislaid through the inexcusable delay in prosecuting the publication of this book. 
They contain some sentences which induced the author to lay them aside at the time, for 
the same reason that he rejected a number of others. Nor would they now be inserted 
were it not to prove the warm-hearted interest which Keabny — in the midst of his own 
disheartening difficulties — took in the career of a young friend and youthful soldier. 



492 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

" No. 1, Barclay St., New Yobk, Sept. Uth, 1868. 
" Dear General — Your favor of the oth came duly to hand. Thanks for your kind 
remembrance of me. I enclose four letters from General Keakny to me, written to me 
when I was sulTering intense agony from wounds received at Fair Oaks and he suffering 
as much from the blundering on the Peninsula. Thesn letters. I fear, on looking over 
them again, will not prove of much interest to the public, but for me they shed a bright 
halo over that otherwise wretched portion of my military experience. To you, they will 
serve to recall that charmingtrait in his noble character, ' thoughtful! noss for others,' and 
the desire to reward where he admired, and condemn where he despised. Had he lived 
his sword would have been his history. His death leaves to you the honorable task — 
may God speed you in it is tho wish of 

" Your friend, 

" FITZGERALD." 

" HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION,) 
" Fair Oaks, Sth JhUj. 1S62. j 

" My De.\b Lieutenant — I regret extremely tho pain you must suffer, and j'et it is 
the high insignia of distinction. I regret extremely that you are not here, for I shall miss 
you in the coming fight. I now propose to you what I had alwaji^ contemplated, making 
you my Aid, if it meets your pleasure. At the same time you are proposed for a captaincy 
iu your regiment. * * 

" Ever sincerely yours, 

" P. KEARNY, 
" Brig.-Oen. Commaiidlng 3d Division." 

" HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION,! 

" Harrison's Landing 5tli Julp, 1862. > 

" My Dear Captain — I was very happy to receive yours of the 25th June. I am sorry 
that your wound is still troublesome. However, join me as soon as you can — and there 
will be plenty of office work, until you can mount. 

" We have had several desperate engagements and fearful losses, but strange to say, the 

pique and jealousy of ■', from his ignorance, or of McClellan, from sundry oici 

reasons and new ones — the principal one that I made an outcry at his intrigaes to have 
General Scott driven out of service hy'slighis and disgusts;* more recently that, from 
before the enemy's leaving Manassas, I criticised his * * * (plans) havo 

proven a prophet. There is not an action, not a position, not a retreat that I did not point 
out three weeks since. 

" Whilst I sincerely sympathise with the pleasure you must afford those at your home, 
and join most heartilj' in the ovations your noble courage entitles you to, I do hope that 
you will not delay your arival. My letter is sufficient authority for you as of a full order. 

'" Very sincerely yours, 

"P. KEARNY, 
Brig.-Gcn. Coinmanding ZHvision. 
" Capt. Louis Fitzgerald, 4Qth iV. Y. Vols. 

" Whilst I study in my Staff the ornamental, remember that I unite with it immense 
exertion, such as I have already found in you. K'y. 

" Our command is small in numbers, but in very high spirits * « * 

" HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, THIRD CORPS, > 

" Harrison's Landing, 17fft July. j" 

" My Dear Fitzgeraid — I have just received a letter from Mr. E. L. Lynch stating 
that, although recovered from your wound, you are suffering from typhoid. 

" Knowing your ardent military spirit, I must caution you not to retard your cure by 
over-anxiety. And yet, I trust to having you shortly permanently installed as one of my 
Staff. 

* '• General Scott's partisans complain that McClellan is very disrespectful in his 
dealings with General Scott," etc. — Gurowski's " Diary," vol. I, page 103, [This note is 
not added to justify the opinion, but excuse it.] 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 493 

" We are resting here most lazily and ignobly. McCit^LLAK always Las a hibernation 
after every fight. He has talents, perhaps, military, none -V nor nerve. 

" Yc^urs very truly, etc., 

" P. KEARNY. 

" To Captain Locis Fitzgerald, iOtli Al Y. Vols." 

\. 
[In regard to what has been styled the " Kearny Coehespondeni^e," the reader, who 
is curious, is referred to other sources of information ; for instance, the\New York Herald 
of 13th and 2Ist September, 19th October, 8th November, 1862, etc. ; likews^e other perioili- 
cJ|ls. The author has had many letters at his disposal, but has inserted c! nly such as he 
believed the dead soldier would have no objection to appearing, had he live*. As stated 
elsewhere. General Kearny, throughout his life, corresponded regularly with si relative 
since dead, of whom the writer was heir and executor. During her last illnesb Kshe de- 
stroyed everything from his pen. From what she said, Kearny's letters mustjiavp 
been intensely interesting.] \, 

Like Bltjcher, like Seydlitz, and all natural born soldiers, 
Kearny could not live without excitement. He was fond of 
wine, as a gentleman, a real gentleman, should be, in modern lion ; 
of good cheer ; of good company ; of the society of the 'iccom- 
plished of the opposite sex, and speculation, which in him 
represented Bluchek's addiction to games of hazard. In 
speculation he was eminently successful, for his judgment, 
despite the vivacity of his temperament, was excellent. Like 
Bluciier, also, he Avas passionately fond of horses, rode like a 
Centaur and like the wind.* His appearance at middle age was 
very deceptive. Ordinary observers would have set him down 
as a light weight, and as slightly built. This Avas, in reality, 
the case in 1846-'7, in Mexico (when, at 32, he looked like a 
youth, with his long flowing hair ci'owned with a taking cap, 
and lithe figure set off by his graceful shell-jacket), but not so 
in 1861-'2. On the contrary, he was a powerfully built man, 
weighing about one hundred and sixty pounds, and about five 
feet ten inches in height. His make was perfection for a trooper, 
his chest massive, his legs sinewy columns. He lay on the em- 
balming-table a perfect specimen of manly strength. He was 
as striking in his carriage as in his character; his step was as 
elastic as an Indian's, and in his movements he was lithe and 

* Indeed Kearny often made the exact remark that Captain Lawley, the Biographer 
of Seydlitz, attributes to his hero, that " he would never cross a heavy underbred horse 
again ; " selecting always such as had " strong loins and hindquarters, and were fit for gal- 
loping, leaping, or any violent exercise." (Pages 82, 83, "General Seydlitz, o i1/i7(7(()i/ 
Biopraphy." by Captain Hon. Robert Neville Lawler, 2nd Life Guards, London, 
printed for private circulation onli/, 18-52.) 

As for Blucker, whate%-er might be shabby or out of order about him, owing to the 
exigencies of the service, he was always magnificently mounted, and, despite his seventy 
years, he rode with all the grace, ease and stability of an A 1 horseman in the prime of life 



I 



494: BIOGRAPHY OF M^OE-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

active as a panther ; in/fact, he was as spry as a cat, despite the 
loss of an arm. Feyir men were more winning in their address, 
although he seem-^d somewhat haughty in his manners. His 
conversation, aVways agreeable, at times was perfectly brilliant. 
To know him was to be won by him. His very vices would have 
been virtues in cold men. All he did wrong came from a mis- 
taken se-xise of the highest, or rather, perhaps, the most sensitive 
honor. On horseback, Kearny was in his element. On his 
fam-ous white, or flea-bitten gray (almost white), charger, Mos- 
cow — the handsomest horse, perhaps, the writer ever saw — he 
looked the picture of a cavalier, and was a modern Alexander. 
In battle he generally rode a smaller, but extremely active 
black, on , which he was killed, and sometimes,^ on parade, a 
heavier brown. His magnificent bay colt, conspicuous for its 
beauty and action even in an engagement, and so remarkable 
as to attract the fire of the enemy's sharp-shooters at Williams- 
burg, was killed under Keakny at Fair Oaks. 

Even after he lost his bridle-arm, he continued to be the same 
fearless rider as before. One-armed, he would dash through the 
woods or leap walls, ditches and obstructions in such a manner 
as to astonish the boldest riders, who had the nse of all their 
members ; and yet, strange to say, although the loss of his ai^'ni 
did not interfere with his movements while on his feet, when 
visiting the writer in 1853, he always had to fix a pillow under 
his left shoulder at night for fear of sufibcating if he rolled over 
on his left side, since from its shortness, or some other difficulty 
connected with his stump, he could not, then, turn over readily 
in bed without assistance. Such was his reckless riding that 
he had several fearful falls, with — not from — horses, since, 
having but one arm, he could not save himself or even break 
his fall. Once, in Paris, his horse fell over backward upon him 
and he struck the back of his head a fearful blow on the pave- 
ment. Another time his horse tumbled with him through a bridge, 
in St Lawrence county, N. Y., and smashed him up generally. 

He could swim like a fish, and Avould iindress, plunge in, 
disport amid the waves, come out and dress himself far better 
a!id quicker than most active and adroit men with a whole com- 
plement of limbs. 



BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 495 

In disposition General Kearny was most peculiar. His very- 
bravery was of a peculiar stamp. General Scott, who knew 
liim well, and had ample opportunities for judging, said; 
" Phil. Kearny was the brav\3st man I ever knew, and the most 
perfect soldier." At Williamsburg he dashed alone into the 
slashing or abatis, which the rebels had cut down for their pro- 
tection, and called out to his own skirmishers, concealed among 
the fallen timber, to drive the enemy — using an epithet toward 
these by no means complimentary — out of their cover. As 
soon as a few of our men showed themselves, a whole rebel 
regiment rose on the further edge of the slashing and fired 
at him deliberately. Notwithstanding their proximity and 
numbers, neither himself, his clothes, nor his horse was 
touched. 

It has often been asked whether Kearny cared for the j^ri- 
vate. Yes ! He believed with Changarnier, with whom he ' 
had received his baptism of fire in the Atlas, " To eat well and 
to sleep well are the two most important things in war." Or, 
to use his own language, to a subordinate on the Peninsula, 

" Let us have no more of this d d nonsense (referring to 

some useless parade). It's well enough when there's nothing 
else to do ; now we are out here to fight, and, when we can't 
fight, let your men sleep. Feed 'em well, give 'em plenty of 
sleep, and they'll fight like h — 1 ! " Even in camp his iron 
discipline was ever subordinated to sanitary considerations. 
Witness his Circular (dated 3d November, 1861) to comman- 
ders of regiments, directing them to be particular and see that 
their men were not kept out, standing exposed, on the damp 
ground, to the rigor of the season, on such occasions as were, 
after all, mere matters form, and intended not for war-time 
and bivouacs, but peace-times and sheltered quarters. After 
a combat he was sure to visit and inspect the hospitals of his 
command to see that the wounded were properly, nay, thor- 
oughly, cared for. He was constantly about his camjjs, super- 
vising the cooking — an important military art, much neglected 
and misunderstood in our army — and cleanliness. He was 
only careless of the lives and blood of his men when great 
objects were to be accomplished, and the soldier's safety was 



496 BIOGEAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

subordinate to the itnpoi-tance of the event, which depended on 
the expenditure of men. 

Few Avho read this would believe that Kearny was a politic 
man ; but he was eminently so. This was doubtless due to the 
canny Scotch element in him, which he derived from his purest 
of pnve Saxon blood, for in no country is there to be found the 
truer Saxon than in tlie lowland shires of Scotland. In fact, 
strange as it is, there is an immense amount of astuteness in 
the most royal of animals, which are synonyms for courage 
and ferocity, even as there was in the boldest of all prime min- 
isters. Cardinal Richelieu, and in the most powerful of all the 
famous Spartan Generals, Lysander (died B. C. 395), both of 
whom knew how, upon occasion, to eke out the lion's skin with that 
of the fox. And we find in the old Norse, or Berseker (Vikin- 
ger), the " -v^iorld-ravager," and in his descendant, the Norman, 
the universal conqueror when the mediaaval was merging into 
the modern, an adroit policy which, in a less courageous blood, 
would have been deemed foi'eign to a bold nature. 

Two anecdotes will demonstrate how uttei'ly devoid of fear 
Kearny was, and even as he rose above the infirmities of the 
flesh, he deemed it to be the duty of every man to tread under 
foot physical debility, when the need of the hour required moral 
fortitude. The first was furnished by a gallant young man. 
Colonel R. Tylden Auchmuty, the descendant, like Kearny, 
of a race of fine soldiers, one of whom took the Cape of Good 
Hope in 1800, Montevideo in 1807 and Java in 1811, three 
resplendent exploits in as many different quarters of the globe. 

" The following anecdote illustrates General Kearny's pecu- 
liar indifference to death," are the words of this officer, belong- 
ing to the staff" of the First Division, Fifth Army Corps : 

" About noon, during the battle of Malvern Hill, while the 
troops were lying on the ground for concealment and for pro- 
tection from the enemy's artillery and sharpshooters. General 
Kearny appeared riding slowly along our lines, mounted on 
his light-gray, almost white, horse. He stopped on the highest 
point of ground in front of the house used, during the engage- 
ment, as division-headquarters, and gazed quietly on the scene. 
At length he saw me sitting, with the other officers of the staff", 



BIOGRAPHY" OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 497 

on the lawn, and calling me, he remarked that all was qniet on 
his end of the line, and he had come to see how things were 
managed in the Fifth Corps. He then proceeded to ask some 
gossiping qnestions about affairs in New York, oblivious, to 
all appearance, that he 'had become a target for the rebel sharp- 
shooters posted in the trees and among the holly bushes on our 
front. I stood perfectly sheltered, the General's horse being 
between me and the enemy, curious to see how long he would 
stand the fire without flinching. He chatted on, giving no sign, 
either in look or manner, that he was aware of the danger, 
until, remembering that a valuable life was in peril, I remarked, 
presuming on an old acquaintance, that, were I a sujDerior officer, 
I should order him back to his command. The General laughed 
and rode away, not taking a sheltered road in the rear, running 
parallel with the front, but as he came, along the crest of the 
hill, between the line of battle and the skirmish-line. Such 
needless exposure would have been regarded in most men as 
foolhardy; but no thought of applause or reputation probably 
for a moment entered General Kearny's head. He seemed to 
have learned one of the great lessons of life, 

' To dread 
The grave as little as his bed.' " 

That this is no exaggerated picture is attested by the convic- 
tion of his soldiers, and those who served with him. "Be 
gorra," said a wounded Irish soldier in the field-hospital, " we 
heard a great many Generals and officers say that they would 
rather be in a fight than ate their breakfast, but the only one 
that I ever saw at his ase there, was that one-armed divil of a 
Phil. Kearny ; but, then, faith, he seems to think himself made 
of cast-iron, and from the way he gets us knocked about, be 
dad, he thinks all the rest of us are of the same matarial." 
And yet, with all this apparent neck-or-nothing way of " seeking 
the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth," there was an 
awful deal of method in Phil. Kearny's madness. 

The second was related by a brave staff officer, who served 
throughout the war, and, in 1862, fought alongside of Kearny 
and in sight of him, in Hooker's division : 

63 



498 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

"An officei* I'ode'iip to Kearny just before Malvern Hill and 
asked to be relieved on account of illness. ' Sir,' said Kearny, 
this is no time for well men to get sick; these are the times, 
for sick men to get well, sir.' " 

" I wish I had seen more of your heroic cousin Kearny' in 
the field," are the words of a letter written by Major-General 
A. A. Humphreys, U. S. A., himself of acknowledged ability, 
of capacity of the highest grade, and for intrepidity among the 
very bravest of the brave ; " I only met him occasionally, and 
never, to ray regret, saw him in action, lohere, by universal tes- 
timony^ he was inagnificejit.''' 

A brevet general officer, C. S. W , who held a high artil- 
lery command at the battle of Williamsburg, and won great com- 
mendation for his energy and bravery in that engagement, made 
a very striking remark in regard to Kearny. " There were 
twenty thousand men," said he, "in the army of the Potomac 
as brave as Phil. Kearny, but of all that twenty thousand 
there was not one whose bravery shone like his upon the battle- 
field, and told like his upon the men. He seemed to stoop upon 
the battle-field like an eagle, and his glances to kindle a kindred 
fire in the faces of all he looked upon, and all Avho looked upon 
him." He became at once the cynosure of every eye, the 
"electric commander," and his confident chivalric bearing dif- 
fused a kindred courage ; and then his voice, heard amid the 
roar of battle, was like the note of the Abysinian war-trumpet, 
known as the " Cry of the Eagle," whose peculiar and exciting 
tone will rouse the native warrior into vigorous action whenever 
and wherever it is heard. Even in the time of profound peace 
let its shrill and startling notes be blown, and the wild soldiery 
will start up from their repose, brandish and clash their weap- 
ons, each limb and feature quivering and kindled at the sum- 
mons, instant for death or glory. As was said of the great 
Frederic's great Seydlitz, such was Kearny's " upright and 
proud carriage on horseback " (particularly alluded to by his 
disciple Birney), "that his figure alone, without the spirit 
which animated it, would have led a line of cavalry against an 
enemy." 

Then again, Kearny knew how to appeal to the little pecu- 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 499 

liarities of tbe soldier. His dress was taking, and he wore it 
jauntily. Man, horse, seat, uniform, gesture, tone, all — all 
were in keeping. He liked to see his Staif and Orderlies dash- 
ing, or, as he expressed it, " elegant " and in accordance with 
his own natty appearance. By the way, he never wore heavy 
boots coming up above the knees, as he is usually represented, 
but laced bootees, which were more manageable with his one arm. 
He insisted that the equipments, in fact, every thing connected 
with his military family, should always be kept in apple-pie 
order. Boots and leather had to be well blacked, and brass 
and steel shine like gold and silver. Moreover, his experience 
in foreign war enabled him to pay more attention to his crea- 
ture comforts than our other generals, either of old or new 
creation. On the Peninsula his fourgon (provision cart or 
wagon) was always up in place in time, and could furnish an 
appetizing meal when improvident or unacclimated officers were 
almost starving. His was almost the exceptional case at the 
beginning of the war, although some of our generals lived and 
learned, towards the end, how to do it. Nevertheless, Kearny 
never allowed his peculiar " impedimenta " to interfere with those 
of the army proper. He had the knack of making everything 
work in together nicely like a well adjusted piece of machinery. 
Thus, in Mexico, he kept a light wagon which followed his 
movements, not for his own luxurious ease, but for occasion. 
On the march its seat was usually filled by a sick or wounded 
soldier, with whom, not malingerers, he was always willing to 
share his last crust. It was this manly or generous sympathy 
which redeemed his iron-clad severity and, together with his 
acknowledged bravery, made him the most popular general in 
the army, among real soldiers, and the fact that all old soldiei'S 
claim to have served with or under him somewhere, or at some 
time or another, in some kind of a way, proves the truth of the 
opinion on which the writer started and which induced the pre- 
paration of this book, that Phil. Kearny was the beau ideal 
of a soldier. He had a Bugler-Boy mounted on a pony of appro- 
priate size. After Kearny's death. Sickles took him. At the 
latter's headquarters a purse was made up and a beautiful uni- 
form purchased for Kearny's little Bugler. He was Tad Lin- 



500 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PUILIP KEARNY. 

coln's companion wlien the President reviewed Hooker's 
army. On tliat occasion Tad rode his pony, and afterward 
took its ordinary rider back with him to the White House. 
Subsequently Sickles' purveyor sent him to school to prepare 
him for West Point ; but, with the assassination of the Presi- 
dent, the little Bugler's prospects clouded, and he disappeared 
in the general gloom.* 

To sum up Kearny's military character — for in that phase 
of the man alone posterity Avill know and honor him, as, indeed, 
any of the great generals of our great civil war — he was 
what General Scott said of him, a " perfect soldier." He had 
the coolness to plan and the energetic ardor to execute, the 
fortitude to suffer, and the intrepidity to bear until the moment 
arrived to pass from inaction to activity as prompt, as vigor- 
ous, as well-timed and well-aimed as the leap of the tiger. He 
comprehended in its full force, the motto of the Algerian army, 
wdth which his fighting career begun, " to fight and to suffer." 
He was wonderful for his conception of the relative value of 
positions, the importance of reconnoitering, his knowledge of 
topography and the use he'made of it. He filled every position 
to which he was assigned equally well, and of him might be 
said, as Grant is reported to have observed of Sheridan : 
" Give him one man, and with him he will do all that can be 
done with one man ; reinforce him with one hundred thousand, 
and he will do with them well, all that such a force is capable of 
accomplishing." Fate denied him a great command and a grand 
theater, but, judging from his past, he would have risen with re- 
sponsibility, with duties and with augmented forces and powers. 

There is something very curious in regard to the manner of 
Kearny's death. The reader will remember that his unhappy 
fall at Chantilly had nearly occurred to him in the glooming of 
Glendale and on the night before Solferino.f It was only one 

* See letter from Phil. Kearny's Little Bugler, pp. 425-'6. 

t Kearny's fearless zeal more than once so involved him in the enemy's lines that he 
was supposed to be killed or wounded. The occasion referred to in the following notice 
must have been after Glendale or Malvern. Could it have been at the time when he lost 
the scabbard of his sword (referred to on a subsequent page, 503-'4), which he is said 
to have regarded as ominous ? 

" It is rumored that General Kearny is killed. Another statement says he is wounded 
and a prisoner. It is hard to tell, just now, the true state of our missing- but quite a num- 
ber reported killed and wounded have since turned up all right." — Nisw York Jlerald, 
Monday, July 7th, 1862, page 1, col. 6. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 501 

more of those fearless personal exposures which, under different 
circumstances, lost him his arm, but won him immortal renown, 
at the gates of Mexico in 1847, and earned the decoration of the 
Legion of Honor on tlie Atlas in 1840,* or on the plains of Lora- 

* The following note presents to the reader the opening paragraphs — all that relates to 
military service, proper — of one oT the missing Reports of General (then Lieutenant) 
Kearny. After a long search, founded on the indications of Major-General George W. 
OuLLUM, U. S. A., it was discovered in one of the pigeon-holes of tlie United States Ord- 
nance Department and a copy furnished through the kindness of one, to wliom the writer 
owes many thanks for similar courtesies, Major-General E. D. Townsend, U. S. A. 
Unfortunately, it was not found until nearly six months after nearly half the book had 
been stereotj-ped and some time after the stereotype plates had been actually revised. It 
is presented in this Summing-up chapter, as a Note, because it is not the Military Report 
or Statement — so often sought and alluded to — which entered into the details of all that 
Kkarxy witnessed while serving with the French Troops in Africa. Major-General Dix 
took some steps to obtain information for the writer while he was United States Minister 
to France, but without result. Two gentlemen, abroad, are now endeavoring to unravel 
Kearny's participation in the Algerian and Solferino campaigns; and an Agent has been 
employed to try and obtain certain works which are supposed to treat of the subject. If 
any new facts are traced out they will be embodied in a second edition of this Biography: 

" Aloibrs, July 1st, 1840. 
" To Honorable J. R. Poinsett, Secretary of War : 

" Sir — I have the honor to inform you that I am just returned from the late expedition 
to Milianah in the province of Algiers, Africa, with the French Army, under the orders of 
Marshal Valee. 

" As I previously informed you, in a letter of May 8th, 1840, difficulties presented them- 
selves on my first arrival in Africa, from the want of a proper authorization from the 
French Government, and also from the communication with the army, then in the field, 
being cut off by the number of Arabs in the plain of the Metidja. This prevented my 
taking part with the /!'/•«< expedition, in May, under the command of the Marshal and 
with which the Due d'Orleans was also present, as Lleutenant-General commanding a 
Division. My time, however, was fully occupied In visiting the camps and advanced sta- 
tions of this province, and in accompanying General Rostolan with a detachment of 
1,500 men, sent to Mansajah in charge of a convoj'. The 2M of May the army of Marshal 
Valee re-entered Algiers, but as the principal objects proposed in their expedition, the 
taking of Milianah and the occupation of the plain of Cheliff, had not been achieved, from 
a want of provisionment for a sutlicient time, a second was immediately again set on foot, 
which opened on the 1st of June with an armj' of 12,000 men. This, through the interven- 
tion of General Schramm, Chief-of-Staff of the Army of Africa, and late Minister of War, 
I obtained permission to join, and was attached, accordingly, to a Regiment of Cavalrj', 
the 1st Chasseurs d'Afrique. The considerations which first urged my going to Africa 
promised the study of the cavalry, that, by personal observation, I might assure myself 
of the manner in which it was conducted in campaigns, as a component part of an entire 
army; the tactics it generally employed in its movemerts; and the various details by 
which a regiment regulated its system of interior police. This last was a study particu- 
larly interesting for us, since our cavalry being of but a few years' formation, however 
perfect might be our practice, there was an incertitude from the short period of our expe- 
rience : and, if other inducements mingled with the above, it was the expectation in a war 
of the French with the Arabs, /ro7(i l/ie resemblance that must ever exist between all tears with 
uncivilized nations, of flndinp somf-tliino in the service generally that might be of utility to us in 
our Indian Wars. Moreover, ftrom the view In which I have looked on the selection of 
young oflticers for the mission abroad, I have ever considered that their individual 
instruction was even more the solicitude of government than the actual improve- 
ments they might introduce, and certainly no military information can be .so 
generally instructive as that derived from being with a large armj' in the field, where 
large bodies of different Corps are united and wielded for the purposes of war, and where, 



502 BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

bardy in 1859. When he was a youth, he often used to say, 
that when his hour should come he wanted to die alone ; that 
he wanted to get away in the woods and die in solitude. And 
exactly so he died. Some invidious person might misinterpret 
this ; but in Kearny it was in the highest expression of manli- 
ness. The moment of death is almost invariably that of physi- 
cal weakness, and he did not wish to be seen when mind could 
no longer control matter. The idea was the offspring of a feel- 
ing akin to that which animated Beorn, Earl of Northumber- 
land, " Clothe me in my mail, let me die standing, not lying, 
as a cow dies." Or, like the fever-stricken Maurice of Saxony, 
at Zara: " Buckle on my armor, give me my sword, hold me 
up ; let me die standing." Men are not permitted so to die in 
these prosaic days, and therefore Kearny, if he could not die 
in battle, willed to die alone, unwatched, alone with his own 
thoughts. And so he was permitted to die. 

A great many persons have been curious to learn something 
in regard to KEARiSrY''s religious opinions. All that the writer 
can say, in reply, is to repeat the General's own answer to a 
similar question : " Responsibilities," said he, " increase with 
the development of our knowledge. As for mj^self, I can answer 
with the veteran Hugh Brady, my knapsack is always packed 
and I hold myself ever ready for the order ' to march.' "* Still, 

by personal observation, one learns to appreciate and understand those nameless and 
many wants, the necessities of troops in campaign, which with an army cannot be dis- 
pensed with, and which, though not mingling Immediately in the combat, tell the most 
in the general operations of the field, and yet can never be learned by mere theory or 
study. 

" That the utility of this measure of sending officers Into Africa is recognized by other 
governments, is proved by the number of foreign officers who have been here previously, 
and that there are sixteen Belgian and two Banish officers present at this moment. * * * 

" Your obedient servant, 

" P. KEARNY, Junior, 
" Lieutenant 1st Hepimmt Dragoons, U. S.Army." 

* In religious matters the parallel between Kearny and Blucher and Seydlitz holds 
particularly good ; Lawley remarks : " In relating the peculiarities of our hero, we 
omitted to mention one of them, which, contradictory as it may seem, was an esteem of 
piety, and of the customs of the Church ; an esteem which he maintained through the 
wild years of his youth, and the stormy time of his manhood. Though his own passions 
were never mastered by these influences, and he may never have had recourse to religion 
tor that purpose, yet he nourished a devoted adoration of the Supreme Being, and during 
the Seven Years' War invariably caused his horsemen to be encouraged to perseverance 
and valor, before every engagement, by the field-preacher, who was also commanded to 
administer spiritual consolation and the holy communion to the wounded and dying. 

'■ He wa.s once during the war riding near the King (Frederic the Great), when a 
regiment of dragoons came forward singing a hymn as they marched. ' They appear to 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 503 

whatever may have been Kearny's earlier expressions of opin- 
ion as to his and the futnre, there is little doubt but that his 
feelings had undergone a great change during the few months 
— some say weeks — of active service which preceded his death. 
Chaplain Marks, who, npon the Peninsula, came to the conclu- 
sion that he dreamed that he was a " soldier of destiny," found 
him in a far different state of mind on the flital day of Chan- 
tilly. Then, for the first time in their intercourse, he spoke on 
the subject of religion. It has always been the writer's opinion 
that Kearny at this time was what the Scotch term yry, that 
is, like many other brave men before him, he had the presenti- 
ment of approaching death upon him. This idea has been 
gathered from remarks of relatives, one a distinguished physician, 
since dead. The loss of the scabbard of his sword, which he had 
caused to be prepared for him in Paris, before he sailed for 
America, imjjressed him as an omen, foreboding evil. The 
weight of metal in this sword had been distributed in such a 
way that it balanced in the hand, so that he could manage both 
wea-poBS and reins with one arm. When the scabbard was lost, 
or shot away from his side, he is reported to have remarked (or 
rather so ran the story), that if it had been picked up and car- 
ried into Richmond as a trophy he would follow it thither, as a 
prisoner; if lost and left ujion the battle-field, his body, in like 
manner, would be found among the dead. If this be true, the 

tap to be poltroons of horsemen who sing there,' said the King ; but Seydi,itz, although 
ngt in the habit of singing, defended the men, and remarked that General vor Zieten 
was accustomed to sing; upon which the King remained silent. 

" With the field-preacher of his regiment, who lived as pastor in Ohlau until the j'ear 
1791, Sevdlitz was on friendlj- terms, and honored him publicly on every occasion. Nor 
would he permit the younger officers to speak lightly or jocosely against religion and its 
ministers, although he otherwise cared but little about this faith or practice." 

BiESKE, Blucher's body-surgeon, declared that " the Prince (Blucher) was very 
religious," andScHERB corroborates this. It was a wild kind of religion, but far more 
honest than the majority of the cultivated formalisms, more highly esteemed .among men. 

Kearny, again, was very much like Blucher in that both men were exceedingly 
whimsical and given to presentiments. Blucher never believed that he would be killed 
or mortally wounded, and Kearny held the same idea; certainly down to the period of 
the Pope campaign. One of Kearny's forecastings came true in a most extraordinary 
manner. When he went to Mexico, he said he was certain he would escape with his life 
but lose his left arrri. This was the case. The bravest of men are often subject to these 
vagaries. Thus Steeduan (whom our great George H. Thom.\s declared the best vol- 
unteer general he had met), before the Battle of Chickamauga, became impressed that he 
was going to lose his right leg in that battle. (Shanks, 285-6.) Even when his horse was 
Bhot under him and he escaped, he did not get over the feeling. Having mounted another 
a bullet cut his rig/it-stirrup-leather, without injuring that leg. Then he considered the 
risk had occurred, and Fate had been satisfied. 



504 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

idea must have originated in one of those inexplicable fits of 
dejDression of spirits which, at- times, come over the bravest 
of men of strong nervous temperament. Kearny was pecu- 
liarly so. He slept badly. His cousin and Aid said that the 
General often called him up at night to make coifee for him 
and amuse him with his conversation. Sometimes Kearny 
would listen for hours in silence, and then again, at other times, 
he would chat away gaily of balls and parties, and the thou- 
sand trifling incidents of fashionable life in New York ; par- 
ticularly of fair and agreeable women whom he had met, and 
gay scenes in which both had participated. Even if the morn- 
ing found him still awake, he was on the alert and in the saddle 
as usual, for personal suffering with him was no excuse for neg- 
lect of duty. His iron constitution could stand the strain. 
Often sick, often depressed in spirits, there was a spring of 
recuperative force in him which enabled him to cry and fee) 
Avith the brave Plantagenet, who fell at Bosworth, " Richard's 
himself again !" Like the bent bow, he straightened himself out 
as soon as the constricting cord was loosed. 

During the Seven Days' Fight Kearny seemed to be imbued 
Avith the idea that he and his division, in consequence of their 
fighting properties, their intrepid alacrity, their rugged endur- 
ance, would be sacrificed to make up for the shortcomings of 
others. On one occasion, during the retreat to the James, after 
a hard fight and harder march, he had returned to his quarters, 
ordered a repast and a bath, and was prepared to take the lat- 
ter, when a pressing or peremptory order was delivei'ed, com- 
manding him to return to the front, as regarded the fighting, 
or rather, rear, for he was protecting the retrograde. Without 
hesitation, he left the inviting bath and needed food unenjoyed 
and untasted, but as he swung himself into the saddle he 
exclaimed, in bitterness of spirit, " My poor, decimated divi- 
sion ! my poor, decimated division ! " 

The death of his idolized and beautiful boy, to whose death- 
bed he was recalled from the front, in the preceding spring, 
cast a deep gloom over this otherwise iron-man.* His cousin, 

* It was observed bv one or another of a small circle terribly abridged, since theOeneral 
himself fell, by death and sickness, that it sometimes appeared as if Phil, did not greatly 
cave to live after the deatli of lovely little " Archie." In some respects, the world was 
" leer" to Ke.4rny as it seemed to Tiiekla after her Max Piccolomini plunged heskd- 
loug on the embattled pikes, and, like a hero, died upon their points. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 505 

Dr. Robert Watts, since deceased, the attending physician, 
says that when he arrived from the army and rushed up stairs, 
his affliction and the nervousness consequent upon it had taken 
such possession of him that he acted like a crazy man. Ho 
seized the Doctor, with that powerful single right-arm of his, 
and actually shook him in the violence of his emotion. " You 
must save him," he cried; " you will save him?" he added, 
witli despairing entreaty. Then, sternly, as if the issues of 
life and death were as much in his hands as thQ movements of 
liis division, " You shall save him ! " When the fatal bolt fell, 
and his noble child-boy Archibald — for he was a grand speci- 
men of childish beauty and strength — died, Kearny was 
broken-hearted. Then the iron-man, the man whom the outer 
world judged unsusceptible of tender feelings, testified what a 
mine of gentle sympathy lay hidden beneath the rugged exte- 
rior of the stern soldier. He crushed down the grief which 
was rending his own soul. He vailed it from the eyes of the 
world, and the lion-heai't grew tender at the thought of the 
bereaved mother, * * * at home, without any 

distraction for her sorrow, while duty, vigilance and activity 
gave him, from time to time, partial oblivion of the great loss 

which rushed in upon his unoccupied moments. 
********* 

Kearny was a Bayard in generosity, in generous sentiments, 
in patriotic devotion, in his comprehension of the i-equisites of 
command and of soldierly duty. On how many occasions, in 
his short career of generalship, did it occur that to him fell the 
hard task of retrieving what others had lost or jeopardized. 
When an incapable Bonnivet had been compelled to place the 
fate of his army in the hands of Bay'ard, that worthy example 
for all time exclaimed: "It is very late, this confidence, but it 
matters not ; my soul belongs to God, my life to my country. 
I promise to (do all I can to) save the army at the expense of 
my remaining days." Was not this exactly the case with 
Kearny? Did he not express in language and action all that 
Bayard set forth in his words and deeds? '''' Dulce et decorum 
est jy^o patria mori^'' Kearny wrote home to his friends, and 
he soon after proved how grand and glorious it was thus to dio 
64 



506 BIOGKAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

for the Fatherland. Like Quintus Curtius, he solved the harus- 
picial riddle, and leaped full-armed into the gulf to save the 
State, an example, if equalled, not surpassed throughout the 
war. Let those who search through ancient and foreign his- 
tory for examjiles of patriotic self-sacrifice, learn that our own 
annals present as notable instances as any in the past or present 
in other lands. No Arnold of Winkelreid was a truer patriot ; 
no Bayard a more fearless knight ; no Leonidas a more devo- 
ted leader ; no Hofer a warmer lover of his country, than that 
one-armed New Yorker, who sleeps under the shadow of old 
Trinity's trees, near the original monument of one inspired 
with kindred ideas, Lawrence, famous forever for his dying 
exhortation, " Don't give up the ship." Not even his warm- 
est eulogist would say Phil. Kearny had no equals; but 
they could justly say he had no superior in our army as a 
soldier. 

Major Kearny, as a youth, had a rather feminine face, as has 
been the case with a great many distinguished captains ; for 
instance. Sir Charles Napier, the conqueror of Scinde ; Mont- 
rose, the flower of loyalty ; Claveruouse, the light of chivalry, 
and Bayard, the knight without fear or reproach. With years, 
his traits seemed attempered into steel through the heat of bat- 
tle and the cold of resolution and fortitude. Pre-eminently a 
cavalry leader, he grew to prefer a combined command to that of 
a grand division of troopers, but he carried into his new sphere, 
all the fire and decision peculiar to his original training and 
experience. Li this, indeed, he resembled Blucher, more than 
any man in this war, that grand exemplar of old Berseker 
ardor, just as our Farragut is a perfect antitype of the 
mediaeval Vikinger resolution. An attack of varioloid, as 
severe in its effects as the more fearful disease of which it is 
generally considered a milder jihase, marked Kearny deeply. 
Thenceforwai'd he could not be considered handsome, but, like 
MiRABEAU, when he spoke, and like Cromwell, when he acted, 
there was a manly grandeur, something leonine, which rendered 
the expression of his face heroic. The fire of battle lit up his 
eye, and the " cannon fever," as Goethe expressed it, in the 
description of his own feelings at Valray, flushed his cheeks, 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEAR20". 507 

making his whole face radiant, so that, amid the conflict, 
Kearxy appeared like a spirit in its element. 

His taste in pictures, in statuary, in every thing pertaining to 
the fine arts, was remarkable, and showed itself in the collec- 
tion with which he adorned his mansion at Belle Grove^ and 
the patronage he gave to artists. 

A lady, who knew General Kearxy intimately Avhen he was 
a young man, remarked, while this chapter was in the printer's 
hands : " Well do I remember that his taste in pictures was 
even then remarkable. There was not a painting of note in his 
native city, or which was brought to it, that he did not know 
all about its history and its merits." He was also very curious 
on statuary and every kind of carved work. He may be said 
to have had a positive passion for every thing connected with 
art. This he derived in a measure from an intimate friend 
(C D L n) who died early, but a great deal was natural. 

This fondness for the beautiful extended tliroughout every 
branch, and manifested itself after he inherited his fortune in 
liis choice of exquisite saddle and driving horses, harness, 
equipages and every thing connected with a gentleman's 
establishment. 

He wrote fluently and clearly, often as brilliantly as he talked. 
Some of his letters are perfect specimens of style and different 
styles. Gathered and edited with judgment, his correspondence, 
in itself, would furnish a portrait of the man, of his character, 
of his life, just as Michelet produced the best biography of 
Luther, simply by culling and arranging his letters on different 
subjects — arranging them systematically and chronologically 
with tact and Sympathetic feeling. His letters demonstrate 
that Kearny had in him not only the powers of a great Gen- 
eral, but all that instinctive comprehension of men and things 
which go so far to produce a statesman, far abler and more 
fitted to grapple with the astute diplon*acy of the old world, 
than the great majority of those who have directed and con- 
trolled the affairs of this, our country. 

In a differently constituted man, Kearny's errors or faults 
would have been virtues. In this he was a perfect Celt,* and 

* Alter the Mexican war. Kearny's opinion of the different nationalities which filled 
our ranks was very much that of CaiDtaiu Ddgald Dalgetty : " The Irish are pretty fel- 



508 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNT. 

true to his lineage. Irisli on his father's side, even his cold, 
calculating lowland Scotch, pure Saxon blood, scarcely tem- 
pered his impetuousness. As in "William the Conqueror of 
England, the astuteness which comes from common sense, had 
been whetted and pointed by the intermixture of Celtic, until 
it became even more wily than the original. The Norman, 
with all his Northern phlegm, was the wiliest of men. It was 
an element of the very Berseker. "In him — Harold Hard- 
RADA, poet and warrior, the giant king of Norway, slain by 
Harold, the Great Saxon king of England — we see tlie race 
from which the Norman sprung." With all his acknowledged 
bravery — for he united the courage of the Northman, or 
Teuto-Scandinavian, with that of the Frank or Teuto-Saxon 
(not French) — the Norman could plot and scheme with the 
wiliest. Dissinmlation Avas one of his powers, and guile or 
ci*aft his wisdom. " He exulted in mastering them (the Welsh, 
or Outlander) in their own wily statesmanship." Yet a braver 
race or better soldiers, for their era, never lived. The Saxon 
was a braver and better man, but it was hai'd to train him to 
the business of soldiering, since the military service was foreign 

lows — very pretty fellows — I desire to see none better iu the field. I once saw a brigade 
of Irish, at the taking of Frankfort upon the Oder stand to it with sword and pike until 
they beat off the Blue and Yellow Swedish brigade, esteemed as stout as any that fought 
under the immortal Gustavus. And although stout Hepbukn, valiant Lumsdalu, 
courageous Monroe, with myself and other cavaliers, made entry elsewhere at point of 
pike, yet, had we all met with such opposition, we had returned with great loss and littlo 
profit. Wherefore, these valiant Irishes, being all put to the sword, as is usual in such 
cases, did nevertheless gain immortal praise and honor; so that, for their sakes, I havo 
always loved and honored those of that nation next to my own country of Scotland.": 

These were just the ideas of Kearny. He said he had never seen braver troops than 
the Irish. When asked where he placed the Americans, then, he answered, " First," and " 
his explanation of this apparent paradox was this: "The Irish." said he, "were as 
brave as any, but the highest phase of their bravery was a reckless rollicking bravery, 
without judgment— a perfect practical illustration of their Faugh-a-ballcigh, 'bludgeon 
fighting,' as Wellington called it on more than one occasion. American bravery is ♦ 
equal to the Irish as far as a proper contempt or disregard of danger is concerned, but it is 
rendered more telling by a common sense instinct which teaches our people, where expo- 
sure Is needless, how to take care of themselves without shirking their work. Order an 
Irish regiment to charge and it would make the attack brilliantly" — "brilliant" and 
"elegant" were great words with Kearny — " but do it in such a manner as to suffer oU 
that could be suffered. Order a regiment of Americans to perform the same work, and 
they will do it just as thoroughly, but the.v will do it in such a manner as to inflict all tho 
loss possible upon the enemy and suffer as little as possible themselves. In open ground 
the only difference would be, that "the Americans would take things the most coolly. 
With regard to the Germans, he exactly agreed with the opinion of Geoboe Alkbbd 
ToWNSRND, as expressed in the " Campaigns of a Non-combatant " (p. 233) : " Tho Germajia, 
as a rule, lacked the dash of the Irish troops and the tact of the Americans." Townsknd 
may have heard Keabny utter these very significant words. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 509 

to his nature. Yet necessity made him the best soldier the 
world has "ever seen. 

Like a great many other distinguished men, Phil. Kearny's 
life had a dawn that did not promise any more than an ordinary 
day. In early boyhood, his characteristics did not give promise 
of what he became. Even in youth, they were not more decided 
in him than in many others who never made any mark. His 
instincts, it is true, were such that they might be compared to 
the first streaks of that peculiar light, or to those clouds by 
Avhich meteorologists or accurate observers of nature are ena- 
bled at daybreak to predict the course of the day. 

" Fighting Joe " and " Fighting Phil.," however loudly and 
bitterly they railed against McClellan, never failed to do 
their duty, and even more than their whole duty, in carrying 
out McClellan's plans on the battle-field. 

What a contrast, in this respect, is presented by the conduct 
of more than one of McClellan's favorites or friends, when a 
similar promptness, energy and patriotism would have saved 
Pope, and prevented the disasters which clustered " thick as 
leaves in Yallombrosa," around the second Bull Run battle-field ; 
yes, he would have converted defeat into victory. But it was not 
to be so. The nation had to pass through this as well as other 
vicissitudes to ripen the public mind for ideas which came with 
time, and then the end came. God willed it to be so. 

Like Bayard,* Kearny died in the forty-eighth year of his 

* Henry the Fottkth, King of France, decreed that a sum of six hundred dollars, 
equal to ten times that amount at the present day, should be assigned for the erection of a 
monument to Bayard; and the city of Grenoble — about a mile and a-half beyond whose 
walls he lies buried — voted a fund of two hundred dollars with the same object. As in 
the ease of our glorious New Yorker — Harkeimeb — and a number of other heroes of 
the Revolution, this project had no further result than the fact that the edict was 
engrossed. No authentic bust, portrait, or lilieness exists of the great soldier, who is one 
of the chief military glories of a country which takes especial pride in warlike achieve- 
ments. The first to honor Bayard, by a monument, was a stranger, neither a relation 
nor a connection, whose name deserves to be comm"emorated. At his own expense he 
placed a memorial tablet over his grave, surmounted by a bust which like the head of 
ETHASf Allen's statue, under the portico of the Vermont State Capitol, at Montpelier, 
wa.s modelled from traditionary features, not any reliable traits. This patriot's name was 
SciPio DE Poland, Siegneur * * (illegible.) 

This epitaph is prefaced with the truism : 

" This stone excels the grave, not the name it bears. Wherever the greatest hero is 
buried, he constitutes, for himself, the grandest sepulchral monument." 

It concludes with another axiom: 

" This monument is susceptible of decay, but the ashes it covers live immortal in fame." 

In many respects Bayard and Kearny closely resembled each other, and, what is strange 



510 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

age.* " France little knows," said the Constable de Bourbon, 
the General of the enemy, when Bayard's death was announced 
to him, " how great is the loss she sustains to-day." Lee, an 
arch-rebel, like Bourbon, like him leading an army against his 
own country, to which he owed his military education and his 
elevation, acted as if he felt this, if he did not say it. Bay- 
ard's body, like Kearny's fell into the hands of the foe, and 
by them was delivered up witli all honor to his OAvn army. 
Both were embalmed, and their bodies were treated with the 
utmost respect tliat could possibly be paid to mortal remains 
in every locality through which they passed on their way to 
rest with their fathers. No monument marks the tomb of 
either,! nor is any needed. Their proudest monument is the 

their similarities were those of Desaix. In youth, as has been said, all three were rather 
effeminate in appearance, but the deceptive externals concealed a soul of fire, a will of Iron, 
magnanimity, detestation of flattery, horror of humbug, perfect calmness under the most 
perilous circumstances, ardent valor in the onset, indomitable fortitude in defense, exact 
obedience in inferior positions and the grandest capacity for superior command. " I have 
but one master above," said Bayard, " and he is God in Heaven; I have but one master 
on earth and he is the King of France; " which, according to the ideas of the day, signified 
France, that i.s, his country. Like Bayard and Desaix, Kearny was ever faithful to duty 
and, like Bayard, exemplified the latter's proverb in regard to money, that " what the 
guantlet wins the gorget spends or squanders." especially where comrades, necessitous, sick 
or wounded soldiers were concerned. All three of these great captains were capable of 
extricating themselves from almost any dangSr controllable or resistible bj- head-work or 
hand-work, yet all three perished by the shot of a miserable friquenelle or musket, which 
Bayard held in especial disgust, as something unworthy of heroic \raT. — "JIistoire de 
Pierre du Terrail, dit Le Chevalier Bayard, Sans JPeur et sans Jteproche, par it. 
Suqard de Bkrville." 

* The plate on his coffin set forth 47 years, 2 months and :iO daj-s. 

t Since this was written the writer has learned that a monument has been erected to 
Bayard at Grenoble, but none marks his birth or burial place. The same will be exactly 
the case with Kearny. New Jersey seems anxious to do, him every honor, whereas New 
York has not taken a single step to perpetuate the memory of a man who did more as a 
marvellous soldier and military genius to honor his native State and city than any one to 
whom, as yet, either State or city have ever set up a memorial or raised a monument. 
The following shows the intention of New Jersey ; time can prove if they will advance 
beyond mere joint resolutions on paper like those in the case of other worthies : 

Number one. — Joint Resolution relative to appropriation for procuring statues of 
Stockton and Kearny. 

Whereas, By concurrent resolutions of the Senate and General Assembly of the State of 
New Jersey, unanimously passed on the thirtieth day of January, one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-eight, Richard Stockton, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence and Major-General Philip Kearny, late of the United States Volunteer 
Army were designated as the illustrious Jerseymen eminently worthy of national com- 
memoration, whose statues in bronze or marble shall occupy the places reserved for New 
Jersey in the national statuary hall in Washington. 

1. Be it resolved, by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, That 
the treasurer of the State be authorized and directed to paj', under the direction of the 
committee hereinafter selected, or a majority of them, the sum of ten thousand dollars 
($10,000), or so much thereof as may be required to procure the statues above Indicated, 
the civilian marble, the soldier bronze. 



BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 511 

place they occupy in the hearts of their countrymen. Both 
will live in the afiections of the American people as long as 
they have a flag and a country. 

Like the Suabian, or German hero, the Infantry General of 
the first half of the sixteenth century, Freundsberg, or 
George of Fronsperger — the "Alp-passer" — most famous, 
l^crhaps, for his exhortation to Luther* — and many other 
eminent soldiers, among these Charles XII, of Sweden, Bay- 
ard had a great detestation of fire-arms, as if, according to one 
of his biographers, he felt a presentiment he was to owe his 
death as he did, to a bullet : one cut his back-bone in two. It 
was a shame, he said, that a brave man should be exposed to 
die by a miserable pop-gun {^''frlquenclle''''), against the effect of 
Avhich he cannot defend himself.f When bullets caine in, the 
number of victims to cowardly snap-shots, or deliberate, mur- 
derous sharpshooting only augmented, and leadei's experienced 
the same fate which had previously been distributed more 

2. And be it resolved. That a joint committee of three from the Senate and five from the 

House of Assembly (to be appointed by the presiding officer of each house), and of which 
the President of the Senate and Spealcer of the House shall be one, be appointed to carry 
out the object above contemplated. 

3. And be it resolved. That the committee or a majority of them, shall make report in 
writing of their proceedings in the premises at the meeting of the next Legislature. 

Approved April 18th, 1868. 

NuMBKR Six. — Joint Resolution, directing the payment of tlirc° hundred dollars for 
the portrait of the late Major-General Philip Kearny. 

1. Be it resolved, by the Senate and General Assembly of theJState of New Jersey, That 
the Treasurer of this State be directed to pay upon the warrant of the Comptroller, to 
William J. Roberts, three hundred dollars, in payment for his portrait of the late 
Major-General Philip Kearxy, which has been purchased by order of the House of 
Assembly and placed in the Assembly Chamber. 

Approved April 3, 1868. 

* Little monk ! little monk ! " said he, patting Luther on the shoulder as he was aboht 
to appear before the Diet at Worms, " thou goest now upon the way to make such a stand 
as neither I and many other colonels (veteran commanders) have not made, even in our 
most desperate dispositions for battles." 

t A bullet, it is true, was a very mean way of finishing a hero; nevertheless, a tile or 
stone, out of a sling, or an arrow, or a javelin, or a cross-bow bolt, was only another 
primitive form of the same kind of missile; and yet, so died Achilles, Abimilech, 
Goliath, Pyrrhxts, Epaminondas, Richard the lion-hearted, Bourbon, Montmo- 
KENCi, NEL.SON, Ross, and a thousand other demi-gods of sacred and profane, ancient and 
mediseval story. This remark of Bayard recalls that of the Fop, in Shakespeare (L 
Henry IV, 1, 3), which so excited Percy's indignation, when he declared 
" That it was a great pity, so it was. 

That villainous saltpeter should be digg'd 

Out of the bowels of the harmless earth. 

Which many a good, tall fellow had destroy'd 

So cowardly ; and, but for these vile guns, 

He would himself have been a soldier." 



512 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

liberally among the led. Xow-a-days — when bullets are 

whistling and screaming by, unseen, in myriads — it takes a 

much bolder man " to adventure " in the forefront of battle, 

and perform deeds of " high emprise," like Kearny did, than 

of old when arrows could be stopped by leather shield or 

steel harbergeon, or when javelin could be turned aside by jack 

or dodged or cleft in twain by a battle-ax or falchion. 

If valor could have availed against a Minie-ball, Kearny 

would have been invulnerable. His reputation as " the bravest 

of the brave " is inexpugnable. The motto on the memorial of 

Seydlitz, in the Church at Ohlau, Kearny's patriotic ardor 

made his own — 

" CSnstcrblittikcit fst Mn 35iiitnt|)um." 
" Immohtality is thy prerogative." 

No death on the battle-field inspired more real poetry than 
Kearny's. Truly Avas it sung : 

. As man may, be fought his fight, 

Proved his truth by his endeavor; 
Let him sleep in solemn night, 
Sleep forever and forever. 
Lay him low ! 

Low, indeed, the head to j^lan and hand to execute, but high 
the memory of his deeds, glorious the light of his example — 
high as the highest as a soldier, bright as the brightest as a 
patriotic man. 

" Hush, the Dead March wails in the people's ears; 
The dark crowd moves, and there are sobs and tears; 
The black earth yawns, the mortal disappears." 

" But speak no more of his renown, 
Lay your earthly fancies down. 
And in the vast cathedral leave him, 

GrOD ACCEPT HIM, CHRIST RECEIVE HIM." 



APPENDIX, 513 



APPENDIX. 



After this work had gone to press the following documents were received : 
For the first, the "' Authorization for the conferring upon Major Philip 
Kearny of the Cross of the Legion of Honor," the author is indebted to 
the politeness of Gen. WnxiAM W. Heine, U. S. Legation, Paris, and for 
the other three, to Brevet Colonel Clifford TnoMSON, late U. S. V. 

The First document refers to Kearny's Services in Africa, treated of in 
cliapter VIII, pages 87 to 110, supra, and in Italy, chapter XV, pages 167 
to 183, supra. 

The Second, Third and Fourth relate to Ke nny's b rilliant Advance to _ 
Manassas, Chapter XIX, pages 228 to 251, supra, but more particularly to 
the glorious conduct of Lieutenant Henry B. Hidden, 1st N. Y. (Lincoln) 
Cavalry, which illustrated the initiative of the active campaign of 1863. 



DOCUMEXT No. 1. 
Copy of letter of Lieutenant-General Mokkis, recouimending 
Major Philip Kearny for the Cross of the Legion of Honor- 

Translation. 

M. the Major Philip Kearny was decorated Avitli the 
Order of the Legion of Honor by Imperial Decree, as of date the 
l7th Feb., 1860, on the proposition of "the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, and at the request of M. the General Morris, com- 
manding the Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard. 

The following is an extract of the letter written by that 
general in favor of M. the Major Pii. Kearny : 

M. the Minister, permit me to call the favorable attention of 
your Excellency to the services in France of M. Philip Kear- 
ny, Major in the American Army. 

This officer, after having fulfilled the course of studies at the 
Military School of Saumur, obtained from the (Fi-ench) gov- 
ernment the proper authorization to (enable him to) make the 



514 APPEXDIX. 

campaign of 1840 in Africa. In the course of that year he 
was attached to tlie 1st Regiment of the Chasseurs d'Afrique, 
and especially to the 5th and 6th Squadrons, of which I held the 
command. He participated Avith us in the combats which 
occurrifed on the Oued-Jur and the Bou-Roumi, at the capture 
of Cherchell, of Medeah, and of Milanah, and in all the affairs 
which took place in connection with the provisioning of these 
places. 

On his return to America, with the rank of Captain, he made 
all the campaigns in Mexico (1846 and 1847), and had his avm 
shot off before (the city of) Mexico. 

In the last campaign of Italy, after having obtained the per- 
mission of his Majesty tlie Emperor, he was attached to my 
staff during the marches, and was present at Magenta with 
Gen. Cassaignolles, and at my side in the battle of Solferino. 

Everywhere, whether in Africa or in Italy, Major KEAR>rY 
exhibited a bravery of the highest order {epwuve), and a great 
coolness {sang-froid). 

I should esteem myself happy if bj' thus contributing my 
testimony of the brilliant conduct of Major Kearny, I 
'should decide your Excellency to propose him to his Majesty 
for the decoration of the Legion of Honor. 
I beg you to receive, &c., 

The general MORRIS 

ComincDidiiifi the Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard. 

In the margin, in the handwriting of the Emperor, 
Ceoss accoeded (or conferred). 

N. 



DOorMEXT Xo. 2. —Report. 

IIeadquaetep.s, 1st Brigade. 
Camp three miles from BulVs Hi/.n, March 9, 1862, 2f p. m. 

Captain" Purdy, A. A. G., 

Sir: On information of my scout, I felt justified in making, 
this day, a reconnoisance to Saugster's Station. We have 



APPENDIX. 515 

done this Avitli caution and forced in their pickets which were 
in some force at Sangster's. 

CoL Taylor commanded tlio advance. CoL Simpson with 
nhcomnion judgment echeloned our supj^orts and guarded us 
from attacks from our right. 

A cavah-y charge tmrivaled hi brilliancy, lieaded by Lieut. 
HiDDEiSr, Lincohi Horse, broke them, captured them, annihilated 
them. It was paid for with his life. A Lieutenant and many 
loot are in our hands. 

The Lincoln Horse has distinguished itself, also, in our 
patrols, which report the Ox-Road and further country safe. 
The 3d Reg. N. J. Vols, has been, so far, in the advance ; the 
2d supporting it ; Col. SisirsoN holding Fairfax Station and 
intermediate country; 1st Reg. at Burkes. 

The country has been safely covered at all points. The 
enemy evidently is disheartened and retiring. Tlieir cars are 
continually running to Manassas. 

Sir, I await further orders ; my original ones being to remain 
at Burkes. 

Respectfully your obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY. 



DOCmiENT No. 3. — Repout. 

Headquarters, 1st Brigade. 

16^;; Dimsion, March 13, 1S62. 

*S'i>." In returning from detached service to rejoin my div- 
ision, I have the honor to refer to the previoics report (sup- 
pressed?) by Avhich I make you acquainted with our moves. 

I now respectfully recommend to your consideration Cols. » 
Taylor, Simpson, Torbett, McCallister and Tucker, and 
their respective regiments, for their high military qualities. 

I have also, most particularly, to compliment Ca})t. Stearns, 
and. his squadron of Lincoln Horse, vrith Capt. Jones, Lieut. 
Alexander, and all the officers, one of whom, Lieut. Hidden, 
has illustrated in the sacrifice of his life the whole cavalry 



516 APPENDIX, 

service hitherto so deficient. He has introduced for them a 
new era. 

The duty performed by this squadron was enormous, cover- 
ing the entire country from near the Occoquan to the line of 
the Little River Turnpike, with boldness and address, evincing 
an alacrity to attack ; in this every non-commissioned officer 
ard private rivaled his officer. 

I now, more particularly, make this report, to urge on the 
Gcrieral-in-Chief the immediate appointment as officer, Corpor- 
ral Eugene Lewis, Co. H, (Lincoln) Horse, 1st New York 
Cavalry. He was second in command to Lieut. Hiddej^, and 
conducted the men after his fall. His elegant, refined and 
soldierly appearance are fortunately with him accompaniments 
to fill a situation which I regard but the precursor of further 
success. Respectfully your obedient servant, 

P. KEARNY, Brig.- General. 
3Iaj.-Gen. Feanklhst. 



DOCUMENT No. 4.— Letter. 
Headquarters New Jersey Brigade, 

Ca:mp Seminary, March 19, 1862. 
Dear Madame : A sad duty makes me intrude on the hal- 
lowed nature of your sorrow. Whilst you lament the son, as 
commander and present where he proved the hero, I ask to 
sympathize with you in his glory. 

As far as that son, citizen and soldier belonged to his coun- 
try, I have done him justice in luy report of the engagement. 
His brilliant victory and daring courage have been made his- 
tory. But here, Madame, my hopes of consolation for you 
end. Witli whatever fortitude you may alleviate your sor- 
rows, for you, as mother, there can be no diminishing by his 
public glory the anguish of the parent ; as far as comrades in 
arms of that son, in my own name and for them all, I beg ta 
assure you of our sympathies. 

With great respect, yours most sincerely, 

P. KEARNY, Brig.- General. 
^Irs. Hidden, N'eio York. 



